Every Mile A Memory
by MotherHeninFlorida
Summary: Story has Frank/OC, Calleigh/Eric, as well as the rest of the cast of the show post Season 10. The story, in line with the tv show, has some mature themes and language. Most of the story is rated "T"; however there are some "M" scenes. Continue of story started in "As Good As He Once Was." Second in the series.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Two men at a bar, one red-headed, the other barely still claiming hair, looked at each other and grinned. The red-head tipped a bottle in the other man's direction and said, "Congratulations old friend."

Frank Tripp snorted and said, "You could have left out the word 'old' you know."

The other man just looked at him with commiseration. "I know the feeling. Sometimes I looked at Marisol and wondered what it would be like when I was old and she was still so young."

Frank grew concerned at the look he saw in Horatio's eyes. "She wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. She was a sweet girl."

"Yes, yes she was."

"Look, I shouldn't have said …"

"Frank, I was the one that brought it up. But you are right, we are here to celebrate you and Vee. Do you want me to say something to the rest of the team?"

"Actually … actually I don't want anything said at all."

"Hmmm."

Frank cleared his throat and then explained how serious Melissa's condition had been determined to be. "Vee understands. Ryan understands. I got … previous commitments … that I have to address before we can move forward. I just needed to bring you on board in case … well hell, in case something happens. I can't leave that kind of burden to Ryan, or at least not leave it to him alone. You get what I'm trying to say?"

"I do," Horatio said giving the man his nod of acceptance. Tipping his bottle in a toast once again Horatio said, "May you both find the happiness you're looking for it and last the remainder of your days."

# # # # # # # # # #

Later that night in another part of town a woman sat looking at herself in her vanity mirror clearly in shock. She couldn't believe what she had done. Was she out of her mind? She hadn't had a one night stand since college. Not even after her divorce had she been that desperate and needy. This hadn't even qualified as a one-night stand. It was more of a quickie in a bar parking lot … with a man she didn't even know. Dear god she'd acted like she was in heat … had barely remembered to make sure the man was using protection; not because she was concerned about getting pregnant because that was no longer a worry, but because STDs and … she broke down in tears, smearing her eye make up and then running to the bathroom to be sick. Eventually she regained control and crawled into the shower after throwing the clothes she'd been wearing in the trash, vowing she never wanted to see them again.

# # # # # # # # # #

All was silent in the house, except in the bedroom where two bodies frantically wrestled on Egyptian cotton sheets.

"Oh Calleigh … Calleigh."

The woman, experienced though she was, moaned as the man intentionally did all the right things to drive her crazy in a way no one else had ever been able to. When the man started moaning himself Calleigh said, "Eric … Eric we … we have to be quiet. Don't wake the kids."

Eric did his best but not without some frustration. He loved Calleigh's vocalizations, loved being the one to cause them.

A little while later, both of them tangled in the sheets and temporarily sated, Calleigh rolled over to face Eric and said the words that put terror into the hearts of all men. "We need to talk."

# # # # # # # # # #

Ryan looked at Walter and grinned. "So give. How did it go?"

"It was a freaking disaster. Audrey is … she's barely five feet tall."

"What?! You're exaggerating."

"I'm serious Dude. And get the look off your face … it was embarrassing as hell because every other guy in the room was thinking the same damn thing you are. She's over a foot shorter than I am … and it was like … oh my god."

Ryan was trying not to laugh but he couldn't help it. "Why do you let your mother set you up with these women?!"

"Because she's my mom. Can you tell your mom no?"

That sobered Ryan up. "That's the only thing she's said I've ever told her. She gave up on me a long time ago."

Walter heard something in his voice and realized maybe his mom was a pain … but she didn't cause him pain. That was worth remembering.

To get the look off of his friend's face Walter said, "Hey, check out the woman at the bar. She's giving you the eye."

Ryan looked where he was pointing and then blanched. "That's no woman, that's my sister."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah, you have no idea."

They both cringed when the woman started stomping in their direction, both of them wishing they had left thirty minutes earlier as they had originally meant to.

# # # # # # # # # #

Vee had the heebies. They'd started about mid-morning. She knew the feeling. Someone was watching her but she couldn't spot who it was. The stupid feeling even followed her home. It wasn't until she'd gone to the gym for her regular workout that she'd spotted him.

She didn't just spot him, she recognized him. Guy's name was Paul Letourneau. She'd gone to school with him and they'd both wound up working for the Porters. She as a contractor and he as some kind of something or other on the administrative side. Or so she had thought; he was too good to be just a paper pusher. But she was pretty sure she was better … even after being out of the game for a year.

She made out like she was going to the bathroom only what she did was climb out the window in there and then haul butt around the building and come up behind Paul. She had him in a headlock before he realized what hit him.

"Vee! Vee!" he wheezed. "I can't … can't breathe!"

"Why are you following me?"

"Spicoli sent me! I swear it!"

"Why in the hell should I believe someone that's been dogging me all day?"

"Letter … got a letter. Front pocket."

Vee continued to use the leverage her height and strength gave her to keep Paul pinned while she glanced over the piece of paper. It had a few hidden codes in it proving its authenticity. She pushed the man away from her and he stumbled nearly going to his knees.

While rubbing his throat Paul groused, "That's some way to greet an old friend Violetta."

"Kiss my ass Paul. You were more Rob's friend than you were ever mine. What the heck is going on?"

"Don't know. None of my business. I was just told to deliver the letter."

"Did he tell you to be an idiot and take your life in your hands while you were at it?"

The man had the grace to blush. "Sorry about that. It's a habit."

"You're a courier," Vee said suddenly understanding.

With some pride in his voice he responded, "Yeah. Old Man Porter trained me himself."

Vee nodded then asked, "Any word on his condition?"

"Improved slightly. Mrs. Porter ain't doing so well though from what I hear."

"Fils de pute," Vee muttered, cursing in French for Paul's benefit.

"Oui. Tout le monde est tres triste."

"I'm sorry Paul; I just remembered … you're some kind of relation to the family."

"Yes but don't worry about it. I've been smart enough to avoid family politics and save what I can. If things blow up I'll still be able to take care of my sisters."

"Your mom?"

"Six months ago. Le cancer."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It was a long time coming. She was happy to pass and end the pain." He sighed. "Take what Mr. Spicoli says seriously. Something is going on. There's noise … quiet noise … that the accident was no accident."

Carefully Vee said, "Anything is possible I suppose, but either way I'm out … been out a while … and I've been cut off as long as I been out."

"Don't know but … that possible accident ain't been the only possible accident that's happened. Just mind the warning. We're living in crazy times Violetta … crazy, crazy times."

Vee watched Paul take his leave and then she quickly got back to her apartment so she could look over the letter more carefully. After making sure she'd read it all and carefully, she placed a call to the number that had been coded into the letter.

"Okay Mark, what the hell is going on?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I swear, I can't win for losing," Ryan said over the phone to his cousin. She'd been unusually quiet at first but now she couldn't help chuckling.

"For a fact you've got some bad luck. And it would have to be Donna."

"Oh my god," Ryan groaned. "She tried to yank me out of my seat by my ear and then accused me of following her. Like I'm interested in her sex life." Ryan could taste the bile at the back of his throat at the very idea, and shuddered. "I told her that jerk needed a knot yanked in his tail. She finally gets shed of him and she's still miserable." Realizing how what he'd said might be taken Ryan said, "Sorry … didn't mean …"

"Relax already Ra-Ra. I knew what you meant. She's in a fix but I don't think it is your place to do the fixing."

"Nope," he said with brutal honesty. "She wouldn't listen to me the first time around … or the second. I'm out of it. Even if I did get involved and try to help the only sure thing is that they'd wind up dogpiling me like they always do. I'm done with it. My mom and sisters can … never mind." Sensing that Vee had something on her mind he asked, "So what's up with you baby cousin?"

"Stuff and junk," she responded intentionally using a phrase that had driven Ryan crazy when she was a teenager but was now a phrase to let him know it wasn't anything important.

"Stuff and junk huh? How about you let me be the judge of that and give me some particulars."

"It's not Frank if that's what you're thinking. I just … saw an old friend … who brought me a letter from another old friend."

Suspiciously Ryan asked, "Didn't have the name of Porter did he?"

"No Ryan, but …" She stopped fighting it and said, "Mark Spicoli said there might be something going on with the Porters. He can vouch for Gerhard and Celia but the others not so much. Evidence is mounting that the accident that Mr. Porter Sr. and his wife were in wasn't an accident. Turns out the pilot had just been diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer … it had already metastasized."

"Yeah? Why do I feel that you aren't telling me everything?"

"Because you're a smart man and know me too well for comfort?" After Ryan's brief chuckle at her salvo they both became more serious. "They've found no mechanical reason for the plane to have nose-dived after take-off. But they did find that a very large sum of money was transferred into an off-shore account that the man's wife was the sole beneficiary of. There's also been a few … unusual … things happen. Rob's Aunt Celia's horse nearly trampled her in its stall and it had to be put down … the vet said the animal had been drugged. Several members of the family and senior staff have had odd things happening to them. Any incident in and of itself means nothing, big picture however is starting to suggest something else."

"And why would Spicoli think you need to be warned if you told him no on the job offer and you've had no significant contact with the family for a while?"

Showing her own confusion Vee said, "Not just warned outright but through a coded letter. It's … unsettling Ra-Ra. I'd make some calls but frankly I don't know if that would just stir up a hornet's nest or not. There's no solid proof, just a lot of hypothetical crap that I'm not sure whether to take seriously or not. It's a bit farfetched. It might just be an 'abundance of caution' thing; that's Mark's style and always has been."

"What did he want from you?"

"That part is a little weird and a whole lot vague. As far as I can tell nothing … at least for now. Mostly he was just warning me to increase my situational awareness." Trying to deal with the stress so she wouldn't have nightmares she told him, "I can only do what I can do and right now there's nothing I can do … even if I wanted to, and I'm honestly not sure I do. This could be a rouse to pull me back in, though why I haven't a clue. I've already told Gerhard I'll sell him my shares."

"That definitely sounds convoluted."

Vee agreed. "That's the way it works."

"The way it works sucks."

"Definitely. Ra-Ra?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I should say something to Frank?"

Ryan was silent for a moment then told her, "You're talking to the wrong guy if you are looking for advice on relationships."

"Fine. Then just as a guy … and a cop … would you want me to say something if it was you?"

"Probably. As a cop I would say definitely."

Nodding despite Ryan being unable to see her Vee said, "That's what I thought. I want to talk to him … I just don't want him to think I'm half a bubble off plumb."

Ryan groaned. "Pug … really?! C'mon, do you have to be quite that … squirrely?"

Vee laughed and continued laughing after she got off the phone. She was still smiling when Frank knocked on her door.

Frank, having learned to read some of her moods asked, "Are you sticking it to Ryan again?"

Using her thickest Southern Belle accent she said, "Why Detective Sgt. Tripp, whatever do you mean?"

Frank grinned since he enjoyed doing the same thing to the lab's dust monkeys … especially a couple of them … like Ryan. Ryan especially because he knew Ryan would react like a cop and not like a guy with a degree. In fact that was one of the reasons he liked working with Ryan, his time as a beat cop; he didn't have to constantly decode the call log for him. Frank grinned even bigger when Vee came forward and stepped into his arms. It didn't take long before his jacket was slung over the kitchen chair, his shoes kicked off near the sofa, his tie hung on a closet door knob, his shirt was unbuttoned and open and Vee was working on his belt.

"Slow down woman."

"Why?" Vee asked a little breathlessly, most of her clothes spread in various places as well.

Frank tried to come up with a good answer then simply shrugged and said, "Hell if I know."

It took a couple of hours and two more tries before they actually made it to the bed. Vee lay curled up next to Frank practically purring and he had a ridiculously contented look on his face. Then his phone buzzed with a text. It was from Ryan.

"Don't let her forget to tell you about the letter."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Vee groaned. "You have to go in?"

"No. But apparently you are supposed to tell me about some letter."

Vee froze. "One of these days I am going to kill Ra-Ra very dead."

"What letter?" Frank asked, this time with more than a thread of authority in his voice.

Sighing, Vee explained and then said, "I was going to tell you, I just didn't want to jump right on you as soon as you walked through the door. And then we got … um … otherwise occupied."

"You sure you weren't using that as a way to avoid telling me?"

Vee glanced at him and Frank realized immediately he was wrong. She tried to hide how the remark stung but he saw it before she could look away. Vee then tried to sit up and move a bit away so she wouldn't feel so vulnerable during the inevitable discussion but Frank pulled her back down and then into his arms.

"Uh uh."

"What?"

"Uh uh. Whatever is going on in your head, it better not include shutting me out. I made a mistake. I'll probably make more. But a mistake can be fixed."

Vee looked at Frank and then sighed sadly. "I'm already screwing this up."

"Huh?"

"I said …"

"I heard what you said, it just don't make a damn bit of sense."

"Don't Frank. Don't play the dumb cowboy with me because I know you're not. Just because you aren't dragging around a lot of initials after your name doesn't mean you aren't smart."

"Fine. That don't mean I can read your mind. Explain it to me."

"Frank."

"Stop wiggling. You're making me feel like a cat after a mouse."

"I'm too big to be a mouse."

"Vee … not in the mood for it. Explain already so we can get passed this." Frank aggressively pulled Vee to him, proving while she might be close to his height and had some security training, he was still the stronger of the two of them. While still taking most of his weight on his forearms Frank captures Vee's hands and pulls them away from where she was unconsciously trying to cover herself.

Vee was wide-eyed and breathing hard. "Frank?"

For a brief moment Frank wondered if he was pushing her too hard then he said to hell with it. He needed to know if Vee could live with who is was and what he was like. Melissa had seemed to enjoy it when they were dating but not so much after that, she'd started to complain that he was abusive though he'd always checked his strength when manhandling her. He preferred the dominant position, always had, always would. Melissa had actually used it against him during the divorce proceedings. There was more than one reason why Frank had trust issues where women were concerned.

"I said explain it to me woman."

"I … I don't know how to do this. I … I keep making rookie mistakes. If I keep making mistakes how am I supposed to prove I'm worth trusting?"

Frank mentally winced before touching his forehead to hers. Then he groaned and rolled them both over so that she was on top. That really startled Vee, especially when Frank's arms came around her to keep her in place rather than allowing her to slide off and to the side.

"I'm gonna squish you," she cautioned.

"You're gonna drive me nuts. Listen woman, I explained I have a few hang ups. I'm working on them. Rome wasn't friggin' built in a day." Then he rolled them again and once again Vee was on the bottom. "And you … you gotta stop assuming that every time I make a mistake it is your fault. We're gonna work on that. As for the damn letter, I can see your side of it now. Just next time, tell me there is something you want to talk about. We may not get right to it but at least I'll have heard you."

"Yes Frank."

Showing another frustration he said, "And you can stop that too. I ain't looking for a damn Stepford Wife that agrees with everything I say … or at least not the way you're doing it." This time Frank surprised Vee even more by flipping only her. She was face down on the bed with him pinning her in place suggestively. He re-captured her hands so that she couldn't get any leverage. "Credit with me some sense. Explain things to me next time. Chuck something at my head if you need to to get me to listen." Her hands weren't the only thing he was pinning and Vee didn't know whether to groan, moan, or squeal. "I will not be shut out. I will not lose you. I want you, not some blasted robot who is so afraid of making a mistake or setting me off that you hide the real you. You're mine. Every bit of you. Inside and out. You got that?"

Frank was driving her to a fever pitch. "If it was any more loud and clear I'd be freakin' deaf," Vee growled as, beginning to feel a little aggressive herself, she started to move beneath him.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Frank said, nipping the side of her neck, and thinking that at this rate he wouldn't need any of those little blue pills so many men his age needed. This woman … his woman … was enough of a blue pill all by herself. He'd either barely survive or he'd die happy, both futures sounded pretty damn good at the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day Ryan caught up with Frank and asked, "Did …"

"Yeah. She did. Thanks for making me look like an ass."

"Uh …"

Frank stopped then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Forget what I just said. I made myself look like an ass. Do me a favor, if Vee … says … I don't know … if she says something is bothering her clue me in."

"Uh …"

With a nasty bite to his tone Frank asked, "What the hell did that Jackass do to her?!"

That brought Ryan up short. "Did he hit her? I'll …"

"No. I think what that little peckerwood did was worse. She assumes … dammit. She plays a good line about having self-confidence but when it comes right down to it …"

Ryan understood. "Some of that was Jackass. But, not all of it. She got bullied and picked on a lot. I did what I could but you can't stop it all no matter how much you want to. She seemed to really grow while she was a contractor … then that got stolen from her, then the mess with her mother's family, and the PTSD makes her feel …"

"Weak. Yeah, she's used that word before. Well I don't like it. There's not a damn thing wrong with her."

They had to stop talking while some people walked by that were paying too much attention to their private conversation.

Frank finally cleared his throat and said, "Just clue me in if she brings something up. I can't fix it if I don't know it's broken."

Then Ryan surprised Frank by saying, "It isn't just yours to fix. Don't do everything for her. She needs to be part of the process."

Frank nodded thoughtfully then added, "I'm off tomorrow and Vee is only working a couple of hours in the morning. After that we plan on going looking at houses."

What Ryan would have said to that was lost to the fact that both men got calls on their phones sending them in opposite directions.

# # # # # # # # # #

Ryan's call had been from Horatio and he headed towards his boss' office. "You called me H?"

"I did. Come in and have a seat."

Ryan was immediately on guard. Being called to Horatio's office was a bit like being called to the principal's office … and he'd had reasons to see the inside of both several times in the past.

"Ryan, as you are perhaps aware there are some … let's call them tensions … between lab personnel."

Ryan nodded then sighed. "Which one complained about me?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The woman from the DA's office, Lily Coronado, or … or Natalia?"

Horatio decided to handle Ryan a little differently than he might have handled the other team members. "Do they have reason to complain?"

"No. Nothing intentional … at least on my part. The only one I honestly care about is Natalia. I don't know what I've done to … to … H I just don't know what I did. She just started chewing at me."

"Explain please."

"We got together after work to see one of the concert in the park series events. It was a jazz band we both like and we saw them in concert together last year as well. Weather was great. The band played concert hall incredible. There was nothing to indicate that she had a problem with me or with anything I did or said. Then I come in the next morning …"

Horatio interrupted, "What about after the concert?"

"Uh …," Ryan was confused for a moment until he understood what Horatio was asking. Extremely uncomfortable he said, "H there was no 'after the concert.' I made sure she got to her car. I went to my car. We went our separate ways. That's all. I swear it. Is she saying otherwise?"

"No. I was merely clarifying what did and did not happen."

With some relief Ryan continued. "Well nothing happened. Nothing was ever planned to happen. We work together … and we both decided a long time ago that friendship is all there is between us. Maybe I wanted something different at first but … look, I may not have the greatest track record but like I told Natalia at the concert, I respect her too much to assume anything other than friendship. If I gave her any other message or signals I swear it wasn't intentional."

Horatio, for all the seriousness of the situation, struggled to hide a smile. He was indeed beginning to see the problem.

"Hmmm. I believe that Calleigh is making sure that there is no communication issue henceforth. The lab needs everyone to pull together. While our problems with IAB are not as extensive as they have been in the past, certainly we are still under the proverbial microscope. And I believe that the recent change in management of that department has people … hmmm …"

"Looking to justify their job?"

Horatio gave Ryan a surprised look at his seeming perceptiveness. "Just so Mr. Wolfe."

"Trust me on this H, I'm watching my p's and q's. I've made enough personal screw ups to last a lifetime."

Horatio nodded and would have brought the meeting to a close but Ryan said, "H … I have a favor."

"Yes?"

"I … I'm going to finish up my masters in forensics. I only have one class left and my Dean has agreed, because of my job experience, to let it be a directed study course. The catch is I need someone to sign off as my professional supervisor. I swear it won't impact my time at the lab, and I'm not asking for overtime or anything like that."

"Yes?" Horatio prompted when Ryan stuttered to a halt.

"Anyway, what I'm asking … well … I'd like to re-examine a cold case and I'd like it to be one that you pick." At Horatio's surprised look he explained, "I've got two reasons. One, so-called cold cases are getting popular in today's media culture. It is something that looks snazzy on the ol' dissertation. Two, I'd like my coursework to actually mean more than a few graphs and bars on a piece of paper and a grade at the end of the semester. I may not solve the case – fairly certain that I won't – but I do hope to maybe make some headway, examine the evidence in a way that will allow someone else to eventually solve it."

Horatio was intrigued but cautious. He'd need to get clearance before examining actual pieces of evidence for any other purpose than strictly police work. "Let me think about it. Make sure there are no prohibitions about such a project. Can I give you an answer in a week?"

Ryan nodded hopefully. "I have until the end of the month to turn my subject in. I've already warned the professor that if I can do this I'll need to make it a blind study and redact actual names and all identifying information. That's why I need a professional supervisor close enough that can oversee and vouch that I'm actually doing the work."

"I see. Let me see what we can do."

Ryan knew he was dismissed and left the office feeling like the meeting hadn't been the disaster that it could have been.

# # # # # # # # # #

Horatio didn't catch up with Eric until they were both leaving the lab for the day. It was almost as if Eric had been avoiding him.

"Eric, hold up."

Horatio felt he could be more relaxed with Eric. That was a cautious road he was treading considering the discussion he wanted to have, nevertheless even a casual bystander would have noted the difference as compared to his usual behavior.

"Horatio."

"Uh oh," Horatio said after catching a glimpse of Eric's defenseless expression.

"Look … I know you probably have someplace to be but … I really need to talk."

Horatio was surprised but determined not to show it. "Of course Eric. You know I'm there for you. Is everything okay?"

"Not really. I mean it's okay but …"

"How about I pick up something from Los Comales and you meet me at my place."

Relieved, Eric quickly agreed and before the hour turned twice Eric and Horatio were sitting on Horatio's small patio, eating, and enjoying a cervesa. Horatio didn't even have to prompt Eric to start talking.

"Calleigh and I had a fight last night. I mean it wasn't really a fight more like a … a strongly worded discussion."

"Hmmm."

"She wants answers to questions I don't know if I'm prepared to give yet."

"What kinds of questions?"

"Am I moving in? And if so when? Where is this all going and how fast are we going to get there? The impact on the lab one way or the other. If we do … stay together … which one of us leaves the lab. Did I want kids and if so when. I mean it was just one thing right after another."

"And this made you feel ….?"

"Like my head was in a blender. I mean I know we need to be thinking about that stuff but does it have to be now? She just adopted Austin and Patty. And I mean the kids are great but they aren't exactly completely comfortable sharing Calleigh with me yet. Then we had decided we would be circumspect for a while because of the IAB thing … now she's rushing all of a sudden. I'm confused."

Thoughtfully Horatio asked, "Where do you see it going?"

"Horatio I can say in all honesty that I can't see any other life than one that I share with Calleigh. And I can see Austin and Patty as part of the package."

"But?"

"But it is all the rest. How to get from Point A to Point B that has me popping Rolaids."

"Hmmm."

"I already tried leaving the lab. Hell, I went all the way to Puerto Rico and couldn't make peace with it. I wasn't even gone a few months before I regretted the decision and wished myself back … and almost wasn't able to come back."

"But that was during the time that you and Calleigh called it off."

"Sure. Yeah. I know. But it is still a huge pill to swallow."

"Calleigh is unwilling to change jobs?"

"It's more than that. And I can even see her side. As a woman it has taken her a lot of time to reach her current level within our department. It would be really difficult for her to leave and start over in another lab and hope to get to the same level she is now. Logically, my skill set is different enough from hers that it would be easier for me to find a new position. But it doesn't feel any more fair for me to be forced to be the one to leave than to ask that of her."

"You both knew a relationship would mean sacrifice."

"Yeah. Yeah we did. But we always hoped … with Stetler gone that … that it might just slip under the radar."

Horatio arched his eyebrow at his brother in law. "Really? You thought that was likely?"

Looking chagrined Eric said, "I said we hoped, not that we thought hope was a plan."

"Precisely the point I've been trying to make. I'd like to help both of you but until you two decide with a great deal of certainty that you're both willing to make the necessary sacrifices, there's no way we can even begin to plan a campaign how to move forward."

Eric nodded his understanding. "And this is where we went off the rails. Then she brought up kids."

"Well Patty and Austin …"

"Not kids … or those kids … but … babies."

"Hmmm."

"I know that sound," Eric said. "That's you having an opinion but not wanting to share it."

Horatio cleared his throat. "There's the biological facts Eric. While medical science has made several breakthroughs over the last couple of years, having children much beyond Calleigh's current age carries significant medical risks for both mother and child. Is Calleigh saying she wants biological children of her own?"

"She says she doesn't know. That for now Patty and Austin are all she wants or needs but she thinks I'm too young to simply make the choice to give up on having children of my own."

"And you told her?"

"I told her … nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah. I avoided that part of it because frankly … Horatio, I don't know if I can … can … if something happens to me I don't know if I can simply ask Calleigh to … and to be honest the idea just … but my mother brought it up the other day too. She's started sneaking it into almost every conversation lately."

"Yes, Carmen can be rather … ingenious … when it comes to bringing up uncomfortable topics."

"Do you regret not having a kid with Marisol?"

And with that the feelings nearly swamped Horatio.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Eric, biological children were never in the cards for Marisol and I."

"Uh …"

Sadly Horatio explained, "I am not referring to … to her death. The doctors informed us that … that the cancer treatments had rendered Marisol unable to become pregnant. And even if we had resorted to fertility treatments it would have been dangerous for Marisol to carry the baby to term."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?"

Clearing his throat Horatio explained, "Marisol wasn't ready to discuss it with anyone and … and I didn't think it a subject that should come up … afterwards. Your mother, your entire family, was already shattered enough. Marisol … she would have come to terms with it but at the time, she had not."

Eric was shocked and saddened even after all this time. "I'm sorry H, I didn't know."

"Your sister's health always mattered more to me than the other. As for the rest of it, there would have never been a dearth of children in our lives … you have quite a few nephews and nieces."

"Tell me about it," Eric muttered. "Every couple of weeks someone is having a birthday."

"And you love it," Horatio said trying to bring a grin to the man's face.

Instead Eric became thoughtful. "I … I honestly don't know," he said. "Other people's kids. You play with them. You spoil them. Then you give them back and don't have to worry about the rest of it. But when they're your kids …?"

"Ah. So you and Calleigh have more to discuss than just work issues."

Quietly Eric admitted, "Yes. But I'm … I'm not ready for some of the things she's asking."

"Did you tell her that?"

"I tried. She didn't seem to … seem to appreciate it. It's like now that she has Patty and Austin she's trying to line up the rest of her life too. I want to be … I thought I was … more than a check mark on her to do list."

Trying to give the younger man confidence he said, "You are Eric, you are. She's simply got more responsibilities now and can't let the rest of it slide as the two of you have in the past. And quite literally for some things, time is running out."

"You're telling me I need to make decisions now too," Eric said almost accusatory.

"Maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but it's unfair to leave Calleigh in limbo much longer. If she has to start making decisions on her own, you may not like the results."

# # # # # # # # # #

Eric drove home that night with a lot on his mind. He swung by Calleigh's place but all the lights were out. Disappointed he decided not to stop and headed on to his mother's house. He almost didn't stop there either. He saw that all three of his remaining sisters were there for a visit.

In the end he was glad he had stopped. They'd been there to kidnap their mother and go have a "girls' night out." As the oldest daughter Loretta had pushed the idea but Vanessa and Mila had supported her one hundred percent and helped to organize the night. He hadn't had to do more than tell his mother and sisters that they looked beautiful and ask if they needed a body guard. His mother blushed, he sisters all laughed appreciatively, but all four said "no men allowed." His pop had already made plans of his own so he didn't even have to stay and entertain his ol' man.

Feeling lucky and in a better frame of mind, Eric re-examined both his disagreement with Calleigh and his discussion with Horatio. They were both correct, the kind of decisions that needed to be made could no longer be put off. When he got home he got on the computer and went to the county employment board to look and see what was available.

Why was he the one that would look instead of Calleigh? Because she had more to lose. While adoption had been approved it hadn't been finalized yet. Austin and Patty's biological father, Randy North, had had his parental rights stripped. That hadn't taken long. And Calleigh had finally gotten the all clear to be their foster mother. She was practically all cleared for the final adoption proceedings but it had yet to be scheduled for finalizing. There was nothing in particular causing the hold up, it was just that it took time for those sorts of things to work their way through family court.

It might be that Calleigh wouldn't trust him to stick it out this time unless he showed concrete movement towards their shared goal. He hoped that wasn't it but he couldn't blame her if that was part of the problem. He hoped that their goal really was shared.

She'd asked last night if he felt he was taking a back seat to the kids. He thought long and hard about that question. Did the kids crimp his style? Yes and no. It was hard getting used to the lack of privacy and time they used to have, the spontaneity. At the same time he could see how they completed something for Calleigh and that only made her more desirable. He just needed to find a way to make room for himself in their lives. For that Calleigh was going to have to help.

First order of business however was to see what he could do to show Calleigh in a very real way that he was serious about being part of her live and the lives of the kids.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Frank wasn't the only one with the day off. Natalia, unable to bear the whipsaw of her emotions, and some physical manifestations she was experiences, made an emergency appointment with her doctor. After getting in first thing in the morning and explaining her concerns, she spent the rest of the day having various labs and blood work done.

# # # # # # # # # #

"Frank!"

"Syd," Frank says returning the greeting while he gave the once over to his boat. Though he didn't know why the hell he was bothering when he knew that Vee kept an eye on it for him. She even kept the seagull crap scrubbed off the deck.

The greeting had been less than enthusiastic. Having received the same tepid welcome from several other marina customers Syd simply took it in stride. "You're pissed. I can tell you're pissed so don't bother denying it," the older man said.

Frank sighed. "I'm not pissed. Just dammit Syd, you could have warned me."

Searching for a way to make amends Syd told him, "I'll see what I can do about getting your lease extended."

"It's not about the damn boat. It's … it's Vee. What the hell? You hire her and then a couple of weeks later you pull some shit like this?"

Slightly taken aback Syd said, "The girl doesn't seem upset. Did she say something?"

"Of course not. What's she supposed to do? Run around whining about it. She knows we're friends."

Suddenly it clicked. "Well I'll be damned. Wait until I tell my wife. Ol' Frank finally …"

"Knock it off Syd. And don't start spreading it around. We're still … working on things."

Having a worldly experience with women that was wider than most would suspect, and ready to commiserate, Syd asked, "She giving you a hard time?"

Frank gave Syd an irritated look. "Hell no. If she made it any easier on me I don't know if I could stand it."

Surprised he asked, "Then what's the problem?"

"There's no problem. I was just hoping this would work out for her. At least I know working with you, Madeline would keep you in line and I don't have to worry about her boss hitting on her all the time."

Syd slowly started laughing, "Oh ho, you do got it bad don't you?"

"Shuddup," Frank said as the tips of his ears got a little red.

Syd walked away still laughing then waived jauntily at Vee who was heading to the dock shack to punch out. It had been a quick and easy two hours of work cataloging the equipment and separating what belonged to Syd personally and what was remaining with the dock. She could still hear Syd when she walked out and over towards Frank.

Vee looked at Syd then turned to Frank and asked, "What's his deal?"

"He's crazy," he grumbled.

"I know that but what in particular got his crazy bone going this morning?"

"Who knows?" Frank said shrugging and distracting her so he wouldn't have to take the lie any further. "You ready to go?"

"Whenever you are."

Frank and Vee head toward the marina parking lot and Frank forces himself to ask, "Want your keys back?"

"Not unless you don't want to drive. I figure this way you can finally get Frankie to leave you alone about asking if you've driven the coupe."

Casually Frank says, "Yeah. I guess." But inside he is yelling, "Yeeeehhhaaaaaaw!" As excited as he is trying to hide being he still remembers to open the door for Vee and she gives him a blinding smile for it. All that does is send more testosterone zinging through his veins and he has to remember to watch how heavy his foot is on the gas pedal.

An hour and a half and two houses later Franks asks, "Vee, you sure you have the right address?" They had pulled into a circular drive in front of a large Venetian style waterfront palazzo. The landscaping had not been taken care of and there was a general air of vacancy about the place but it still surpassed anything he was used to.

Doing her own looking around Vee answered, "Yeah. The realtor said the gate would be open and to come up to the front door and knock. She's already supposed to be here."

"I am!" a woman sang from an open upstairs window in a false happy, happy voice that made Frank cringe and Vee mutter, "Oh my Lord." They looked at each other and swore silently not to leave the other alone with the woman for fear of committing death and dismemberment.

# # # # # # # # # #

At the lab Calleigh was in ballistics testing whether a gun taken as evidence was capable of the trajectory estimated when Eric cautiously stepped in and asked, "Do you want me to make you some coffee?"

"No thank you," in that voice she'd developed over the years to hide her feelings for Eric.

The problem was Eric could read it. "Cal …"

"Eric, we're at work."

"I know that," he said, fighting to hide his own emotions. "I'm aware of the problems. I just wanted to ask if you'd found a pediatric dentist for Austin. If you haven't I got the name of the one that Loretta uses for her kids."

Had Eric been able to see her face he would have seen that Calleigh regretted the sharp tone she'd used with him but that way lay temptation and she had to draw a hard line given what was at stake for both of them. She had responsibilities at home and here in the lab, as a result there were risks that were unwise to take. She was beginning to wonder if getting what she wanted in one area would mean giving it up in another.

Still trying to be the peacemaker Eric told her, "Look, I'll just put some coffee in an insulated mug and leave it at your desk."

Calleigh softened but it cost her. Without looking at him she said, "Eric? Coffee would be … nice. Thank you."

"Not a prob Cal. I'll leave the name and number of the dentist there too."

"Eric?"

"Yeah?"

Carefully Calleigh said, "Maybe … maybe we can talk about it after work. The kids have gym so I usually just sit in the parking lot waiting."

"I can meet you there," he said, and you could hear relief in his voice because he knew that "it" wasn't necessarily the dentist but what was going on between them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Frank and Vee were standing with the realtor in the kitchen … or what would have been the kitchen if the cabinets, countertops, appliances, and flooring weren't gone and there weren't giant holes in what drywall remained. The overhead light fixture was barely hanging by its wires and Frank made sure that he and Vee weren't standing under it.

Frank shook his head, "This place looks like a wrecking crew went through it."

The realtor tried to hide her wince. They were the last couple on her list. All of the others had taken one look and left without a backwards glance, unwilling to even discuss it. At least these two had been willing to take a tour.

"The owners are aware of the condition of the property. Between you and me however, even with the renovations that it needs …"

Vee said, "Extensive renovations."

"Um … yes. Even with the extensive renovations needed …"

"This place wouldn't pass code at any level," Vee said making her point even clearer when she held up her phone and said, "And according to the county's website there is already a lien on the property due to failure of the owners to address the code violations for over a year."

"Well, see the owners are internationals and were not receiving the county's notices …"

"That's BS. Or do I need to check the tax collector's website to see if the taxes are paid up on the property."

Frank looked at Vee and decided he liked what he saw. This was the confident woman he kept getting glimpses of. She seemed casually calm but there was something in her eyes to let the realtor know that she was well aware of what was going on.

He decided to play good cop since Vee was doing the pushing. "Seems like they dumped a mess in your lap. Code enforcement, unpaid taxes, all of this damage. Anything else they expect you to gloss over?"

The realtor fell for Frank's Texas charm and commiserating attitude and admitted, "The owners had originally bought the property as a place their children could live while they went to university here in the US. The first two did quite well and were popular in the neighborhood. The third and fourth sons had a completely different … hmmm … lifestyle and set of friends … and their parents called them home, rather forcefully according to the neighbors who witnessed them being packed up and tossed into a waiting limousine. The owners then left the management of the property to another, this time distant, relative who further passed on the management to his son who, as you can see, did a very poor job of it. It was treated as an extended stay vacation rental. The last people … well, they sublet it, something that isn't even legal here in the Florida, and it basically dissolved into a he said/she said/they said circular argument of who has been at fault. I'll be honest, there is a foreclosure notice on the property but the bank really doesn't want it back due to its present condition. The owners are prepared to walk away since they have no other holdings here in the US and plan none in the future. The bank is willing to really short the price, the owner really doesn't care they just want to be finished with it. Everyone just wants out of the deal and no reasonable offer will be turned down."

While the realtor emphasized reasonable, Vee suspected that her reasonable and the realtor's reasonable weren't in the same ballpark. But she knew this game and knew that the legal issues gave her some leverage. She told the realtor to give them a moment and she and Frank walked out back towards the private dock on the waterfront side of the property. When they were far enough away Vee looked at Frank and said, "I can do this."

"The price is more than what was left in the trust."

"Not by the time I've finished with them."

"Vee …"

"Do you like the property or not Frank, that's all I need to know."

"Hell yes I like it but that's not the point."

"Yeah it is. I know it is on a canal and not on the Atlantic."

"Vee …"

"And I know it looks like there is a lot of work but most of it appears to be mostly cosmetic."

"Vee …"

"Frank this kind of business and sales negotiating is what I did as a contractor."

"I thought you were a mechanic."

"I was a lot of things because Mr. Porter Sr. insisted I learn the business from the ground up. He never believed in empty titles … hiring people into a position to supervise a job they'd never done themselves. It is one of the things that makes Porter International so good at what they do. The man just has a blind spot when it comes to protecting family. C'mon Frank … let me do this for us. Let me prove to you that …"

"Whoa … right … there. You don't have anything to prove."

"I say I do. I know I can't stick my nose in with Melissa and the kids and stuff like that. That's your business and I understand the boundaries. But this is for us … and maybe for your kids too."

Giving her a suspicious look he said, "No blackmail."

"Huh? Oh, no, that's not what I mean. I mean that you said you don't like having the kids over because your condo is only a one bedroom. And you are still unsure how their living with their grandparents will ultimately work out if there is no choice but for Melissa to be a homebound patient. This place is five bedrooms and three and a half baths and …"

"And every one of them are a damn mess."

"They're a mess right now. But tell me you can't see what is under the mess. The place has really good bones."

She was right; Frank could see the potential in the property – he could even see the perfect place for Vee's sofa – but it was going to take a wad of money to bring the house up to code much less make it livable. On the other hand, this was Vee's money and he didn't feel he could tell her no."

"Sweetheart, don't get your hopes up … but if you want to give it a try I say … if you need my vote, go on ahead and see what happens."

Vee struggled not to do a happy dance because she knew the realtor was watching. She did however get a naughty twinkle in her eye. "Follow my lead?"

Frank, well versed in giving blank face, told her, "If you follow mine later on."

If possible the twinkle in Vee's eyes only got naughtier. "Who could turn down an invitation like that?"

# # # # # # # # # #

Later that evening Frank and Vee were sitting in his favorite steak place and all he could do was watch Vee eat.

"I'm still not believing this. How in the sam hill …?" He wasn't talking about the sixteen-ounce medium rare sirloin that Vee was eating with decadent pleasure but about the stack of signed and notarized papers that he was looking at. All of which proved that she had gotten the price she wanted as well as gotten the owners and the bank to pick up closing costs and some of the fines, and had gotten the County to release the lien on the property and give a decent extension for them to address the code violations. There were still lots of things they needed to finish tomorrow but the closing had already taken place. His head spun with things like house insurance and getting the county to issue permits so the repairs could commence but it still seemed impossible that she'd actually pulled it off.

Vee finally finished chewing and shrugged. "They were desperate to get it off their hands and make it someone else's headache. As for the rest of it … you don't ask, you don't get. All I risked was them telling me no. Speaking of, aren't you going to eat?"

"Yeah," he said vaguely as he once again looked at the Warranty Deed that had both his and Vee's names on it.

"Um Frank?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you want me to keep my apartment until the house is livable?"

It took him a moment but what she had asked finally penetrated his brain. "What?"

"Do you want me to keep my apartment until the house is livable. Or Ra-Ra offered me his second bedroom. But if I give up my apartment that means that is one bill that can be tossed overboard and we can use the margin to fine tune our plans."

"Plans?"

Vee missed the signs and portents of the storm building in Frank's eyes and just kept plowing forward. "Yeah. I figure we have forty to forty-five days to get the dock rehabbed."

"You do."

"Yeah, that way you can choose whether to leave your boat at the marina or go ahead and move it to our house."

"Our house."

"Yeah and …" It was when she glanced up and saw the expression on Frank's face she finally stuttered to a stop.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Seeing the suddenly frightened look on Vee's face made Frank so irritated he stabbed his own steak and started sawing at it. Finally he growled out, "Why in the hell did you have them put my name on the paperwork?"

"Uh … you … you don't like … uh …"

"I already told you what a mess my life and retirement is currently in."

"But … but you said yourself that that is likely twenty years down the road … the retirement I mean … and that you were working on a plan. Can't this be part of your plan to re-strategize things?"

"My plan," Frank continued to growl before stabbing the steak again.

"Uh … yeah," Vee said slowly, knowing she was doing something wrong but not sure what.

"Dammit, this is your money. You're already selling what you had started for your own retirement before you were injured and said you'd use that do to most of the cosmetic damage in the house because the job I found for you didn't pan out. What the hell. This was supposed to take care of you … secure your future."

The waitress chose that moment to come up and ask if everything was good. Frank answered, "Great as always. Tell Nathan he gets better every time I come in."

"Oh, you know Nathan?"

"Yeah. Good kid. Tell him Frank said keep it up." What Frank didn't say was that he'd arrested Nathan, along with his old man, after a bank robbery where his father had forced him to be the getaway driver. Horatio and Frank had pulled some strings and gotten the kid probation with the opportunity to expunge his record if he stayed clean for three years. That was five years ago and Nathan had worked his way up from dishwasher to grill-master during that time.

After the woman left Frank just kept eating but Vee had lost her appetite. She finally found the words she wanted, she just hoped they communicated to Frank how she felt. "Frank … you say the money is to secure my future. Well … you're my future."

Caught off guard Frank said, "Excuse me?"

"This isn't about buying your affection or whatever so please don't be mad. And if you care about me at all please don't be thinking that I'm looking for some sugar daddy to take care of me the rest of my life because that idea pretty much makes me want to throw something." Frank cocked an eyebrow at her and she quickly clarified, "Not at you. I just mean you're my future. Maybe you decide all you want is a good friend out of it but that doesn't change a thing for me."

"Sweetheart …"

"Hear me out Frank. I had to put the money from the trust into a piece of real estate or lose most of it to taxes. There was no way around that. I've come to accept I may never make a salary equal to what I was making as a contractor, especially if I don't want to go back out in the field so I need to do something to be financially responsible. And maybe in the long run getting completely untangled from the Porters is better than what could have been. I've never been financially irresponsible but I know at some point I have to take a more active roll and it looks like this is the moment to do it. You on the other hand have been financially responsible all along but have had your … er … own bumps in the road. You've got responsibilities now with your kids … and other stuff. This is where maybe together we can kill two birds with one stone. We've talked about being together and …" Vee faltered for a moment but then took courage in hand and said, "And we have to mesh things into a big picture to pull that off right. I figure you come at the picture from one side and I come at the picture from the other and we meet in the middle, have it all rolled up, and it works out. If we work things out then the people dependent on us benefit as well, and that's a good thing."

Trying to not act like the ass he felt like being he said, "Fine, let's look at it from your perspective. What the hell do you see me bringing to the table?"

Vee just looked at him like she was trying to figure out if he was joking or not. "You bring you to the table," she finally answered. "You're the anchor. I mean I know it is basically unfair to ask you to take on my personal issues but you said you were up for the challenge. Um … are … are you rethinking that?"

"You know I'm just about ready to pop your behind. Why in the hell would you think I'd think a dumbass thing like that?"

"Um … I can't see any other reason why … why … you don't want to … I mean …" In frustration she said, "We talked about this. I thought we agreed."

"We talked about you buying a house."

"We did."

"I said you buying a house."

"But …"

"I'm a man Vee. Furthermore I'm me. The idea of you paying my way because I can't curdles my insides and pisses me off. It's like that reciprocity stuff you say is important to you. What the hell do I bring to this equal to what you've just done today?"

Vee was trying to come up with a different way of saying it but all she could do was say, "But … you bring you. I … I …"

Then Frank saw it and he nearly dropped the glass of wine he was holding. She really believed it. She really and truly believed that simply by being him that he was worth all the rest of it combined. She valued him … not what he could do for her or what he could give her but him as the individual he was. Holy shit, she was lucky he stayed calm enough to call for the check and pay it – remembered to get Vee's mostly uneaten meal in a to-go box – and drive back to his place.

They'd done it in silence and Vee was so strung out by the time Frank turned off the car that it took her a moment to realize where they were. When Frank came around and opened her door she said, "Uh … your car is at my apartment."

"You can drop me off in the morning."

"In … in the morning?"

"Yeah. Right now I need you to hustle your bustle woman and get inside before I embarrass both of us here in the parking lot."

"Uh …"

"Now," Frank said urgently.

More than a little confused Vee nevertheless hurried to do his bidding. She was barely over the threshold when Frank had her up against the wall and his hands were everywhere at once.

Frank groaned. "Dammit. You make me feel like a blasted teenager. You better do your buttons or I'm liable to just rip the damn thing off of you."

"Frank?"

"You won't be sorry Sweetheart. I swear it. If I get lucky there will be enough years to show you how you make me feel. If I get very lucky there will be a lot of years. Let's start with right now."

Vee nearly shrieked and then nearly giggled at the sensations that Frank was causing, something she felt was completely inappropriate in a woman her size. She did not giggle, ever … yet here she was giggling like some silly woman half her size. She suspected if she lived to be a hundred and Frank a hundred and twenty she'd never stop being surprised at how he could make her feel. She knew she was still missing chunks of what was going on but she also knew he'd eventually get around to explaining it. But for now the loving was what he needed and it certainly wasn't a bad idea in her mind either.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The kids were in bed after a meal of chicken empanadas, yellow rice and pigeon peas, and for dessert there had been guava pastries.

Calleigh stood watching the man in her life wash the last few dishes he'd dirtied when he'd fixed everyone's dinner. "Eric, you didn't need to do this."

"I know," he said grinning. "But I wanted the kids to see that I could cook."

"And the pastries?"

"Eh, they deserved a treat for being willing to try something new and the panaderia was right there by the gym. Besides I know how much you like them."

Calleigh looked at Eric and thought it was so hard to tell him no when he was so sweet. "Yes, I like them. But my waistline will pay the price."

"You're beautiful and women shouldn't be stick figures. It isn't healthy or attractive. You've always been thin; I like you better this way."

"Are you saying I've put on weight?" she asked slightly scandalized that he would bring it up.

Drying his hands he pulled her to him and said, "You've put on gorgeous and it makes me even hotter than you've always been able to make me. But it's also important that if you have a baby that …"

"Eric!" shocked by the sudden introduction of the topic after what happened last time they had discussed it.

"I said 'if' Calleigh. If. I've really been thinking about some of the things you said and I can't ask you to give up the idea of having your own biological child just because I'm concerned that if something happens to me you'd have to raise the child alone … or at least alone for a while. I can't pretend some other man wouldn't find you as amazing as I do and …"

"Whoa. Eric. This is certainly a one-eighty from where we were."

Eric shook his head. "Not really. The idea of you carrying my child … you have no idea what the idea of it does to me. But the reality is something different. Wait," Eric said when Calleigh started to turn away. "If we do this, intentionally have a child together … Cal I'm worried. About you, what it would mean for us, how Austin and Patty could take it, how they would view me as maybe the interloper trying to put my kid before them … there's a lot at stake. And that doesn't even start to cover all of the financial issues."

"I guess you have been thinking about it," Calleigh said, shock still obvious in her tone.

"I told you I would. And I have. I'll continue thinking about it. First though comes the fact that I'm going to have to find another job. I need it to remain with the city if at all possible so that I don't lose any benefits, including the time that I've put in. And here is something that didn't come up but that could be a real issue … I still have this bullet in my head. It makes it almost impossible to qualify for any kind of life insurance and the only reason I have health insurance is because of my current job. I'm not just going to be able to pick up and change to any old job, whether it is a career change or not."

"I … Eric … I … I hadn't even thought …"

"I know. I understand the wanting Calleigh. I really do. But there's just a lot to consider. I'm trying to do the right thing but in this case it is a matter of wanting but not necessarily being able to fulfill that want so that other things don't fall apart."

Calleigh and Eric walked towards each other at the same time. It wasn't him holding her or her holding him; they held each other.

"Calleigh I literally cannot see any future that doesn't have you in it. But I can't just hop when you tell me to hop and where you tell me to hop. There are issues. And some of those issues make me leery of having kids. At the same time part of me does want to have a child with you and I know … I'm realistic enough to realize that as a woman you've got a time limit you are working with. Just … just let me start with the job situation. Once I get that straightened out I swear I'll work on the rest of it."

Feeling both chagrined and vindicated at the same time for pushing the issue Calleigh said, "And I'll work on my end as well. I have to get the adoption finalized for one."

"Yeah, actually the kids are the most important right now, then the job situation."

"Actually, at this moment," Calleigh said pulling Eric's mouth to hers. "I believe we have more immediate things to … discuss."

In a husky whisper Eric said, "Yeah?"

"Most definitely."

Eric's grin was both shy and sexy and it didn't take any more convincing to get him to follow Calleigh to her bedroom.

# # # # # # # # # #

Horatio sat on his patio dreaming of Marisol. He'd felt so young and alive with her in his life. The only thing that made him feel alive these days is when he was on a case and even that was losing its potency. He knew Marisol would want him to try and find someone else but he felt so guilty when he did and the person he was with inevitably felt it.

Perhaps for Marisol's sake … for her memory … he should try more. Perhaps …

Horatio's phone rang and even though he knew it meant a crime had been committed, it was a relief to stop thinking and start doing something he knew he could do.

# # # # # # # # # #

"Pop, you gotta call her off," Walter begged his father who was sitting there grading papers.

"Son I don't 'gotta' do anything. Your mother is a strong-willed woman and I'm the one that has to live with her. Not you."

"But Pop …"

"Walter, find a girl. Start dating. That will get your mother off of your back."

Walter grumbled, "She never likes any of the girls I date unless she picks them out herself."

"So keep trying. Maybe the next one will work out."

"That's what you said last time and look how that turned out."

Mr. Simmons tried not to but he started chuckling then laughing finally only stopping when he was in danger of knocking over his briefcase. "Well you do have some strange luck with women, I'll give you that." Then he started laughing again.

Walter rolled his eyes and decided he needed to get back to his place. "Thanks Pop. Thanks a lot."

Still chuckling his father said, "You're welcome Son."

Walter just shook his head as he glumped out to his car. Sometimes he didn't even know why he tried. All he knew is that it would be a while before he made the mistake of letting his mother set him up on a blind date again. Of course that's what he said last time … as well as all the times before that.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Frank rolled over in his bed. Something had awoken him but he didn't know what. Then he remembered who was supposed to be in the bed with him … only there was no Vee curled up beside him. It was too damn early for her to get up. Concerned that she might have had a nightmare, Frank started to get up to go find her. That's when he heard a muffled sound coming from the kitchen. Old habits die hard and Frank reached into his nightstand and took out his service pistol and quietly made his way to the bedroom door. He was relieved to remember he'd put his jockies back on and that was one less thing he had to worry about.

What he saw when he finally got a look in the dim light coming through the kitchen window were two people of equal height struggling silently but one was beginning to lose. Then the one losing hooked their leg around the one behind causing them to lose their balance. Frank winced before the two of them hit the ground. Vee had accidentally elbowed him in the solar plexis when he'd inadvertently found a very ticklish spot. He wouldn't be making that mistake again. But what he was witnessing was your basic exploder suplex move which he'd seen pro-wrestlers use. It reminded him he never wanted to really make this woman mad at him. But he was grinning devilishly while he thought it.

The two fighters had no sooner hit the floor than Frank stepped forward and ordered, "Move!"

Vee rolled away and the other guy tried to move as well. "Not you asshole. And stay put before I let her finish you off." While keeping the guy on the floor covered Frank said, "Call it in Sweetheart. It's an autodial."

Vee did as she was told and immediately afterward 911'd Ryan with her location. Ryan actually got to the scene two minutes before back up did and was running up the stairs with gun drawn.

"Frank?!"

"Come in and cover this jackass. I need to put some pants on. And … er … so does Vee."

# # # # # # # # # #

The man from IAB said, "Once again from the top Ms. Wolfe."

Vee had had just about all she was taking. She was at the precinct. She could see both Frank and Ryan getting the third degree as well through the glass walls of other interrogation rooms. None of them had a lawyer and she was done being used as a weapon to beat on the two men most important to her in the world.

"Why?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"I asked why. You have my written statement. You have my recorded statement. You personally have heard me orally give my statement at least a half dozen times, and I've given my statement at least that many more times to other people. Tell me why you need it again?"

With a smirk he barely bothered trying to hide he said, "Because it isn't possible that you incapacitated a former …."

He didn't get to finish because Vee was on the other side of the table and had picked him up and was demonstrating the body slam technique before the clock advanced a handful of seconds.

Ryan and Frank saw what was going on and rushed in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Frank yelled. Ryan said, "Put the nice IAB man down Vee. Now."

Vee exaggerated her drawl while saying, "I wasn't gonna hurt him. He said I wasn't capable of disarming Super Jerk in there. I was merely proving what nearly a dozen recitations of my statement apparently did not."

Ryan groaned and pinched his nose before saying, "Put the man down."

"But I need to finish showing him …"

Frank, more inclined to see the humor in the situation, told her, "Sweetheart, put the poor guy down. He needs to go change his shorts."

Vee did a little more forcefully than necessary followed with, "Ew! He does! Now that's just plain nasty."

Ryan looked at Frank and muttered, "Do not encourage her. Next thing you know she'll be demonstrating on the entire IAB office."

Frank was obviously trying not to grin. At least he was until Vee flipper her hair out of her face revealing a spreading bruise where her assailant had had her in a choke hold. "What the hell?!" he bellowed.

And while IAB didn't know Vee, most of them did know Frank and that was the end of the interrogations with a fake casual agreement that they'd finish their IA reports in their own offices. That was also when a complaining Vee was stuffed into Ryan's backseat whereupon she was taken to the Emergency Room. It didn't matter that she kept telling them she was fine, she didn't need to go; they ignored her in favor of verbally dismembering the "Asshat" and bringing into question whether his ancestry was higher than pond scum.

Vee, for her part, gave up trying to argue them out of it and leaned back hoping that they ran out of steam before next Juvember and was actually beginning to feel sorry for the guy that had attacked her. Being on "the list" of either one of the men that consider themselves her caretaker would have been bad enough, being on the list of both of them at the same time was pretty much guaranteed to bring prolonged misery.

# # # # # # # # # #

Horatio, having finally been able to extricate himself from another case, arrived at the hospital to find both Frank and Ryan pacing. He caught a glimpse of Alexx Woods and hurried over to her.

"Alexx?"

"Horatio," Alexx said unable to hide a grin that turned into a chuckle.

Horatio relaxed. "I take it she is going to be fine."

Alexx noded but said, "But I don't think those two are."

Horatio looked to where she nodded and then tried to hide his own relieved grin. "Yes. They do seem to be rather … hmmm … intense."

Alexx shook her head fondly. "Vee Wolfe is something else. They were hovering and making it impossible for my staff to examine her. She told them if they didn't stop she was going to do something totally out of character."

"And that was?"

"She threatened to start acting like a girl and crying." Alexx had to cover her mouth for a moment to hold the laughter in. "I swear I have never seen that look on either of their faces. They caved a moment later when it was apparent she was willing and capable of following through on her threat."

Both shared a moment of humor then Horatio sighed and they finally both became serious. "Horatio, the attack was intended to completely incapacitate Vee. From what she said the man tried to inject her with something but the needle point hit the plate and screw fixation on her collar bone. It bent the needle and he was unable to press the plunger or release the contents of the needle. She is going to be bruised from that and from the chokehold the man then tried to put her in. She admitted the only thing that kept her from going down was the fact that her height prevented her assailant from getting enough leverage."

"Did they recover the syringe?"

"Yes. And I have something for you as well. A bit of the needle point hung up on the hardware of Vee's collar bone reconstruction. I also scraped under her nails. I took some swabs of her abraded knuckles. And she had a bit of thread stuck in her teeth where she bit her attacker's sleeve-covered arm. When this girl fights, she fights."

"The more evidence the better. It is my understanding they haven't been able to get the man to identify himself, and his finger prints aren't in CODIS. With sufficient DNA evidence we may connect him to other crimes."

Alexx nodded her understanding adding, "CODIS or not, this guy isn't a beginner."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Frank and Ryan had finally allowed as how if Alexx Woods said Vee was okay to take home then it must be true. Ryan had driven the other two back to Frank's apartment and on the way he learned they were new property owners. Ryan was shocked at how quickly it had happened but when he glanced at Frank the man looked to be feeling twice the surprise and shock that Ryan was. That almost made Ryan smile. Almost.

Both men had to go back to work; cases and calls were backing up. They had considered packing Vee up and just installing her in the breakroom at the precinct but one look at Vee's forbidding face and they had to give that idea up. Against their druthers, they admitted that Vee was not the kind of woman you could wrap in cotton batting and install in a gilded cage; she'd go She-Hulk on you if you tried. Ryan remembered one particular incident when Vee was seventeen and shuddered. Uh uh. It was a risk too great to take. Vee had a creative streak and at least this way she wouldn't feel pushed to do the exact opposite of what they wanted her to do.

Almost sulking they finally left, both telling Vee she'd be getting calls and texts frequently throughout the day and she better damn well answer them quickly … or else. Vee finally could take the time and set the kitchen back to rights. It wasn't really that bad. Her assailant was definitely a professional. Given more time it is likely he would have taken her down and who knows where it was supposed to go from there. Vee calmed herself and then ordered her thoughts before placing a call to her former team leader.

"Vee I told you not to call me on this line again until I called you. It isn't always secure."

"I know you did but screw your secure. I don't trust your office staff not to have any moles in it and I have something to report you might find interesting."

There was silence on the other end and then she could hear the faintly electronic hum and clicks that indicated that Mark had secured the line … and was likely recording as well. "Go ahead," he finally said.

"I was attacked last night … at a friend's place. He was a professional."

"Friend or your assailant."

"Smart ass … the assailant."

Further clarifying Spicoli asked, "Was?"

"My … friend … is an LEO and the assailant is currently sitting in the holding tank at MDPD refusing to cooperate or identify himself. He isn't even asking for a public defender."

A pregnant silence later Mark asked, "Can you identify him?"

"Maybe. It's been a long time. He reminds me of a guy that was part of a team we worked with my first year. We were in Mumbai. He's my height but otherwise undistinguished looking. Dirty blonde, brown eyes, medium toned skin, Midwestern non-accent type voice, left-handed, nasty scar on his ring finger of that hand … like he'd been wearing a ring that got caught in a piece of machinery."

A split second later Spicoli said, "Shit. The guy from the motor pool."

"Yeah. Him. Appears they were able to save the finger. I just can't remember his name."

"Terry Bonham. These days they call him Bonie … like Bonaparte … after the accident he developed a habit of putting his hand in his shirt like the little emperor. I don't think it is an affectation. From what I hear the hand bothers him … or at least the scar does."

Suspiciously Vee asked, "How do you have this guy's info so fast? He was never part of our team."

"I got chewed out for his accident, for not enforcing the no-jewelry-while-working-on-machinery rule. The guy pissed me off for trying to come after me for his own stupidity … the rules were posted, but apparently since I didn't make everyone sign that they'd read them he couldn't be blamed for not having the sense God gave a rock. He tried to get money out of the company but you know the ol' man."

"Yeah," Vee said sarcastically. "He's got great lawyers."

Spicoli snorted. "Yeah. And you'd know. So any way I been keeping track of him. He was moved laterally to …"

"To where?"

After hesitating Mark told her, "He was put to work under Rob's father."

"No. No way."

"I'm not saying it is either one of them … Rob or his father. In fact …"

The silence went on too long and Vee snapped, "Don't you dare leave me hanging."

Mark sighed. "Rumor has it that Bonie is one of the Rob's wife's conquests."

It took less than a second for Vee to put it together, "And they'd certainly have something in common. They both think they've gotten a raw deal at the hands of the Porter family."

"You got it. Look, I gotta …"

"Mark," Vee cautioned. "Don't jump to the most obvious conclusions. There is a big difference between sending a lover after someone you feel has embarrassed you and having the bollocks to take down a plane."

Quietly Spicoli said, "Dammit, I miss you on the team Vee. You always looked before you lept. I never did understand why you were with Rob."

"Because I was young, I was blind, and it was easy. Don't try and schmooze me Mark, you and Rachel had a great thing."

"And then she left me for a friggin' accountant."

"So maybe the guy is more boring in the sack than you but she wanted kids and the guy comes home every night and is there on the weekends. Maybe she wanted quantity over quality. Not my monkey, not my circus so don't try and have me do trapeze work. No way in hell was I interested in helping you pick up the pieces."

"Isn't that what you're doing with this guy Tripp?"

Realizing her former superior knew more than he was letting on she told him, "You're an asshole, you know that? My private life is none of your business … it's never been any of your business because I never let it interfere with my job performance. I never used the Porter name to get a pass if I screwed up either. Leave Frank out of it … and leave Ryan out of it too. I catch anyone messing around like that and they'll wish they hadn't woken the giant. I swear it Mark. I've kept my mouth shut all these years, and am happy to continue keeping my mouth shut, but if anyone I care about is threatened …"

Spicoli got the message and decided that he'd try and convince the ol' man to take that option out of the playing deck. Mark had always suspected that the reason the ol' man had liked Vee so much is that he recognized the same hard and ruthless streak in her that he had … as well as the family loyalty thing. Gerhard and the ol' man had decided to make peace and throw in together to find who was betraying Porter International … and if it turned out to be a member of the family, they'd be dealt with quietly. But if they pushed Vee too hard things could get big, loud, and noisy fast. He'd seen the girl work, they needed to take that into account when dealing with her. For now, his next order of business was to find out if Violetta's suspicions were correct; was the guy in a holding cell in Miami indeed Bonie Bonham or not.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It hit Frank as he was half way to work; Vee getting attacked in the middle of the night in his apartment pretty much let the cat out of the bag. And he wasn't wrong. People were giving him looks all morning … from the receptionist that he'd once asked out for drinks all the way up to the lab rats. But he refused to satisfy their curiosity. At least until Calleigh started pushing his buttons in front of God and everyone.

"Frank? Isn't there something you want to say?"

"Yeah, whoever the hell it was that made the coffee this morning … thanks. I missed breakfast and the grounds in the bottom of the cup really went a long way to filling the empty corners."

He tried to walk off but she asked, "How is Vee?"

"Ask Ryan."

"I did but all he does is tell me to ask you. Everyone else that has asked just gets growled at. So … here I am … asking you. How is Vee?"

"Tired. Irritated. Bruised." Finally slamming the filing cabinet he'd been looking for something in he said, "Did I mention bruised?"

"Ah … yes you did. So … you're taking care of her."

Frank finally just gave into the inevitable and loud enough for everyone to hear him said, "Yes. Vee Wolfe in I are in a relationship. Yes, I can count to twenty and know she's a few years younger than I am. I'm getting used to the idea but no one better push me about it. Ryan doesn't have a problem with the relationship or the age difference but I wouldn't suggest being an ass because he's a little hyper protective of his cousin … and so am I. I hope to hell Vee is happy but if you've still got questions, feel free to ask her. She might dump you on your head but like I said, you can ask her. Oh yeah, we bought a house together yesterday. It has a boat dock. Other than that it was a former party house and needs a lot of work so don't think you people are getting out of being asked to hump around some junk to get access to said boat dock." At that he walked away.

The look on Calleigh's face was priceless. "You what?! Wait! Frank … you can't say something like you bought a house together and then just walk off! I want details! Frank?!" she said while practically chasing him down the hall.

# # # # # # # # # #

The remainder of the day passed more quietly than the night had. Or at least relatively speaking. The day shift had four new cases but most of them were relatively open and shut comprising two gang shootings, a domestic violence call that got out of control when the guy had taken umbrage at the mother of his kid refusing at the last minute to let him have his visitation and she'd shot him when he started yelling at her and telling their business for the entire neighborhood to hear. And then a murder/suicide of an elderly couple after the caregiver of an Alzheimer's patient had been diagnosed with late stage inoperable cancer. The last case had been particularly depressing though par for the course; however, Ryan was eager to leave and go home and shower then veg out while making fun of the latest forensic drama on TV. After checking on Vee to make sure the day had stayed quiet of course.

Natalia had already notified Calleigh that she needed at least a couple of days off but she didn't feel like she could leave the issue with Ryan unfinished before she took off. Natalia spotted him trying to sneak out using the stairwell rather than the elevator and she hurried to catch up with him.

"Ryan?" She almost lost her courage when she saw him freeze on the landing below her and then his shoulders slump. "Ryan, just … just give me a minute. That's all I ask."

He didn't say anything just waited for her before going down anymore. She felt sick when she realized he wasn't angry but looked like he was waiting to get kicked. She put her hand out but he nearly flinched.

"Oh Ryan. Look, there's a lot going on and all I can say is I'm sorry. I didn't say anything to anyone, someone else must have."

Slowly and with evident confusion Ryan finally looked her in the eye. "You … you didn't say anything?"

"No. I think someone must have seen me acting like … reacting inappropriately and drawn their own conclusions. The other night wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. In fact it was rather nice to have a man say they respected me too much to treat me like a piece of meat."

"I didn't say that! I mean I did but not in those words. Nat I would never …"

"I know that Ryan." Then she shocked Ryan as tears suddenly start cascading down her cheeks.

"Natalia?!"

"I hate this," she said frantically wiping at her eyes, first with her hands and then with the handkerchief that Ryan provided her.

"Natalia what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Natalia thought to herself, "Dammit. I'm the one that's been acting like a shrew and he still treats me like a gentleman … like a friend." To Ryan she said, "It's … it's just …"

"Okay, that's it. I don't know what is going on but I do know you've got dark circles under your eyes and you're acting weird … like a girl."

That last finally caused Natalia to stop her crying and to almost chuckle. "Definitely acting like a girl," she responded. "That's part of the problem."

"Huh? Never mind. Let's go get a drink … or let me buy you something to eat. Something. Anything. Talk to me Nat. I still don't know what I did and I want to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"You didn't do anything Ryan but I suppose I owe you an explanation, but I'd appreciate it if you keep it to yourself."

"Sure. Of course," he answered automatically. Then winced because he hadn't left himself an out in case it was something bad and he needed to get her help in some way.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Natalia had said she wasn't hungry but Ryan insisted on ordering some finger food type appetizers to go along with the beer they were both drinking. Ryan had always been amazed and slightly amused. Natalia looked like the type of high class woman that would drink some frou-frou, fruity alcoholic drink with a straw and umbrella stuck in a fancy glass, but instead she was a beer person … and she preferred her beer in the bottle. It made Ryan want to smile every time he saw other guys watching him with envy when he and Nat went out. Not on a date but just to get together as friends. He'd always felt driven to check on her. Between the abusive ex-husband, her sister's kidnapping, her close calls with death, and her hearing deficit he felt more protective than anything else. Her keen intellect and scientifically organized mind was also something he understood better than some of his colleague's more emotionally charged responses on some of the cases. He'd thought in the beginning he was sexually attracted to her but the reality had turned out to be something different … for which he was grateful that he hadn't completely screwed up enough to lose whatever it was they had between them.

"Nat … you ready to talk?"

Natalia sighed. "I need to give you some background first. It's personal but bear with me." At Ryan's nod she said," I started having some problems in high school. PMS for which they put me on birth control pills. During college and my marriage to Nick the diagnosis was changed to PMDD. Do you know what that is?"

"Yeah, if I remember my college biology classes it is the scientific equivalent to PMS on steroids."

"Essentially yeah. It was exacerbated by … by the abuse … the physical abuse. It caused some fertility issues and that only made the problems with Nick worse. Then I finally got up the nerve to leave him and start life over. Amazingly, change in diet, routine, and getting rid of some of the major stressors in my life basically caused the PMDD to dial back to something much more manageable, and while I still have the occasional bought of the munchies, a few zits, I've always kept the worst symptoms at bay using hormone therapies."

Not wanting to bring up anything too embarrassing for both of them, yet trying hard to understand he asked, "Is that what happened … one of those hormonal peaks or valleys … when you thought … um … when you thought …"

"When I thought I was pregnant and it was either you or Eric?"

"Yeah. That."

Sadly Natalia admitted, "Looking back that was probably part of what was going on."

Something horrible entered his mind, "Natalia … are you?"

"Pregnant? No. That ship has sailed."

"Huh?"

"Last year I finally just accepted it and decided to take an active role in my reproductive cycle. I'm forty years old and the likelihood of having a child is nil because I'm not interested in having one out of wedlock. I'm not interested in adoption either though that could change in the future. I'm not interested in going into a convent. I don't think I regret the decision of having my tubes tied …"

"Whoa. What?"

"Yeah, I had my tubes tied. I just didn't want to take the risk anymore. The worry … not that there was a lot of reason to worry … but I didn't want it anymore. Or at least I didn't think so." A look of emotional pain crossed Natalia's face.

"Nat?"

"Looks like I didn't need to have the procedure after all. I would have never gotten pregnant, I was years too late."

When she stopped and was obviously struggling to not cry Ryan took her hand from across the table. "Natalia, talk to me. Please," he almost begged as visions of things like the "c" word entered his mind.

Natalia cleared her throat. "Essentially the years of hormone therapy masked the symptoms and might have even contributed to the end result. Now that it is beyond a certain stage … there's no more masking the symptoms; weight gain, hot flashes … a few other things … and mood swings." She was silent and Ryan gave her time to collect her thoughts and finish. "One of my ovaries has been completely shut down for some time according to the doctor after reviewing some recent lab work. The other ovary has a significant cyst on it that needs to be addressed immediately because it is in danger of rupturing. I also have non-symptomatic fibroids. The doctor says there is about a seventy percent chance that she'll be able to correct my current situation without a full hysterectomy but she'll definitely need to remove at least one of the ovaries. She may have to take my uterus as well depending on how many layers of the uterine wall are involved."

In shock and not quite knowing what to say he said the first thing that came to his mind. "Thank god they found it before … please tell me there's no cancer. Tell me your doctor ruled that out."

Natalia looked at him, "Did you hear me Ryan? I'm only forty and overnight I could be turned into an old woman with nothing to offer any man."

Ryan's mouth fell open. "Who the hell told you that? Nat, the surgery is to save your life … or … or will keep it from turning into a situation that could take your life. That's all that matters. Geez, women in my family have had hysterectomies in their twenties and they're still going strong."

"What did you say?"

"I said the surgery is to …"

"Not that … about the women in your family."

"Oh … well … yeah." A little embarrassed at being so indiscreet he said, "One of my sisters was a total bitch the entire time we were growing up. None of them are what you would call easy to get along with but Lexy could get downright violent … anyway … infertility issues and all that and then the hysterectomy … and suddenly she's about the only one that talks to me like I'm part of the human species. Most of them treat me … never mind. And Vee's mom and our aunt … both of them had problems too. If you want to talk to someone Vee might be able to do the introducing. Not that I don't love you but I'm just not on the best of terms with … anyway …"

Natalia just continued to stare at him for a moment. "Ryan, can I ask you a huge favor?"

"Sure," he said quickly … but in his mind cautiously.

"I'm not asking for anything … physical. I just don't … can't … I just don't want … alone … tonight … for a while anyway. Wanna come over and watch something … a movie, maybe something else, anything else? We can pop popcorn. I still have that weird kettle corn seasoning you like in the cabinet."

Ryan slowly smiled and said, "I can do that. I … uh … don't think it is a good idea that I stay the night however. There's enough talk at the precinct and the way my luck runs …"

"No. I understand. Just … just until I fall asleep?"

"Sure, that I can definitely do."

And the two friends left, grateful to finally be getting back on stable ground.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Vee met Frank at his condo door and told him, "Dinner is in the oven. I hope you don't mind, it's just a casserole; your cabinets are kinda bare and I didn't have a car."

"Casserole is good," Frank said cautiously, unsure of the mood that Vee was in. She was acting like something was up but disconnected from it at the same time. She had walls up, he could tell that much. He decided to act normal and see where that got him. "Gave some thought whether you should give up your apartment," he told her.

Vee nodded. "So have I. I better keep it. You need your space until you … you know … get comfortable about us."

Frank got a what-the-hell look on his face but Vee just continued.

"Plus I talked to Spicoli."

"When?" Frank demanded.

"Once after I cleaned the kitchen up and then again about an hour ago." Without Frank having to ask for an explanation she gave him one of the first and then of the second conversation. "So yeah, based on some intel and reconnaissance by someone Mark has in place around here, the guy was identified as Terry Bonham … not Terrance Bond like his lawyer named him. And the lawyer? He's on retainer to some pissant little operation that has given the Porters problems in the past but Mark found out that it was bought by some other group last year and has been in reorganization since. There's no evidence that Bonie ever worked for them but that there is obviously some kind of connection and funky business going on. He is supposed to be couriering a file to your Lt. Caine … might already be there by now. And I want you and Ryan to keep your distance from me until this mess is cleared up."

Frank would have been okay up to her last statement. She'd told him up front what she'd done. Further, she'd told him the content of this Spicoli's investigation and even made sure that a file was generated and sent to Horatio. But those last few words? Uh uh. Not happening. And Vee knew they were in for an argument just by the look on his face.

"Frank …"

"No way in hell Sweetheart."

Vee sighed and then sat down and said the only thing she could think of. "You've got three kids."

"What?"

"This isn't cop stuff Frank. This is corporate espionage. Possibly involving foreign agents that have a completely different way of looking at things. And it's also possible one or more people are involved from the inside of the company … and one of those involved could even be a member of the Porter family. Cop stuff … the stuff you do day in and day out that puts your life on the line … that's one thing. Your kids know the possibilities because they've grown up seeing it and hearing it. They've seen you get hurt on the job. This … this is something else. These people don't just go for the direct attack. These people will mess with your financials, your private life, your friends, your lovers, your family. I won't be responsible for …"

"I said no way in hell and I mean no way in hell."

"Frank for god's sake … stop being such a guy about this! I know these people. It was one of the less … pleasant … aspects of my job. I hated knowing about this side of the business."

"You saying them Porters were into this kind of shit? That you were?"

"No. You gotta know where to draw the line. I found out things by having to help defend the company … and family … from other companies and groups that do business that way. As much as the stuff with Rob sucked one of the reasons why it hurt me so badly is because I knew how honest the Porters were. But they came after me like a rabid mother bear who'd been forced to watch me beat her cub senseless. That means that someone in that family is capable of taking things much further than I credit Mr. Porter Sr. being willing to. Maybe that is part of the problem … I don't know. He can be a ruthless SOB but he's an SOB with morals and boundaries."

"C'mere …"

"Frank, dammit don't …"

"I said C'mere," he told her gently. When she reluctantly complied he took her in his arms. "What would you do if they went after my kids or Ryan or I."

"I'd nuke 'em from friggin' space," Vee growled in a deadly voice. "I would have a scorched earth policy until whoever did what was brought to justice."

Frank swallowed. He'd wanted the real Vee to come out but damn she might be more than he bargained for … more than he'd ever dared to dream. He turned her toward him. "Don't you think I feel the same way?"

"Frank, you have responsibilities already in place. Your kids, your family, Melissa …"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not with Melissa anymore. Don't start seeing things that aren't there."

Realizing her tactical error she hugged him. "I know you aren't with her. That's not what I'm saying. I'm certainly not accusing you of anything. But she's the mother of your kids and your kids love her and you love your kids and that therefore means that whether you want it or not, you still have … entanglements … with the woman that will never go away. I don't have a problem with the triangle you make. I'm more than willing to believe you and not make the mistakes that Melissa made. But I can't blind myself to reality, not if I want you in my life which means I accept your reality and in some way learn to make it my own. Speaking of … Dan returned your call, Frankie and Francine called both complaining about Shelly … which I'm not getting in the middle of, that's your circus, and Coral left a message asking if you'd gotten a call from Melissa."

"Yeah, I got it. She's … she's forgotten … or is acting like she has … that we're divorced and wanting to know why the kids and I have just left her in the hospital. She thinks her mom is having some kind of breakdown because she tried to explain to Melissa that the kids are in high school in Cape Coral and can't just come to visit after school every day."

"That sucks."

"Not my problem."

"Huh?" Vee asked in unguarded surprise.

Frank sat down and then gently pulled Vee into his lap before unbuttoning her shirt enough that he could pull her collar open and look at the bruises that had become even worse looking. "Vee, Sweetheart, maybe a couple of years ago I couldn't say this. I was too deeply and eternally pissed at the woman. But there are only two reasons that I've let myself get pulled into the drama. The kids … and pity."

"Pity?"

"Yeah. Pity. There's nothing else of anything left. She destroyed it all. The last little bit died the night she got drunk, got behind the wheel, and then nearly killed our daughters. I don't respect her. I don't care what happens to her except how it affects the kids. I sure as hell don't love her … I don't even think I love the memory of the woman she used to be. And that part turned to dust during the divorce proceedings. The things she said about me and to my face, the things she did to me directly and indirectly, the things she had other people believing about me, the things she had people doing on her behalf … she destroyed any hope of me ever feeling anything for her again. I thought she'd even destroyed my ability to … to be with another woman that … that intimately again. I tried dating but it didn't hold a lot of appeal … damn I hate stupid women and smart women usually consider me stupid. I couldn't win for losing. And sex only does it for your so many times."

"Frank," Vee yelped outraged.

"Hey, you're the only angel in this room," he told her in defense of his baser behavior.

"I'm not an angel," Vee denied.

"You are to me. But you also …" Frank cleared his throat. "Dammit you turn me on with how strong you are. I can be me and not have to worry about damaging you. We can roughhouse, play, … er … get creative and you've yet to tell me no or not try and meet me at least half way. And you go out of your way to make sure that I know that I'm the only one that you've ever been with … and you make it …" Frank had to stop. This revealing your emotions shit takes it out of guy.

"Frank …"

After a couple of false starts Frank said, "You're mine and you're all I want. Not because you replace something or someone I used to have. Not because I'm settling since my old dreams died. But because you are all I've ever really wanted and dreamed about. Looking back I could see that I was settling with Melissa because I knew that she'd never really ever change … but like you said, there were the kids. We'll I'm free now. And I freely pick you because it is you … and only you … that I want. And no two-bit peckerwood, corporate spy, or any other shit faced freak is going to take you from me. And that … is that. Understand?"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Eric had a scheduled meeting after work to go over the diving equipment since it hadn't been used in a while so he didn't get a chance to see Calleigh or the kids. Instead he gave her a call after getting in and showering.

"Hi Cal."

"Wow, you sound tired."

"Yeah. I was in the dive pool a lot. Every regulator needed to be tested and I found two of the tanks had leaks."

"I know I don't need to say this but you are careful when you do that … right?" Eric had explained the dangers of improperly working diving equipment, even if it as just in shallow water.

She couldn't see his tired smile but she could hear it when Eric answered, "Yeah Cal, I'm careful."

"Good. By the way, guess what I found out."

Eric's smile turned to a chuckle. "What?"

"Frank and Vee are definitely in a relationship and not only that, they've already bought a house together."

"I heard," Eric told her. "It isn't just those in the precinct talking about it."

"Yes, but do you want to know where the house is?"

"Do I want to know how you found that out?"

"Frank let something slip." After silence on Eric's end she asked again, "Do you want to know or not?"

"Okay, sure. Where?"

"Miami Beach … in the Venetian Isles area."

There was a momentary silence before Eric asked, "Did I just hear you say …?"

"I did."

"Uh …"

Taking a good guess Calleigh said, "You're trying not to ask how."

"Yeah. I mean … never mind, it's none of my business."

Calleigh sighed and said sadly. "You're my conscience." Then she said excitedly, "But you weren't there so here's the deal. Vee inherited what was left in the medical trust that was set up for her brother. In the scheme of things it isn't a huge fortune but it is … let's say sufficient. But, she would have lost almost all of it to taxes if …" Calleigh finished explaining to Eric then added, "And according to the girl I know in the County Attorney's office Vee is one heck of a negotiator. She got the County to discount the code enforcement fees and remove the lien. The owners were willing to pick up the fines that were left. The bank covered the closing costs and gave her the price she wanted. The lawyer that managed the trust was so eager to get everything finalized that he personally handled the funds transfer and sent his son to represent them at the closing table, also representing the out of country owners free of charge. And she must have something on at least one someone because she actually got it all done in one day before the offices closed. And now they are house rich and cash poor and are under a time limit to bring the house up to code and the clock is ticking."

"Frank told you all of this?"

"He told me a little. And I overheard him telling Ryan a little more. I made a couple of calls and …"

Cautiously Eric said, "Calleigh … I hated it when people were getting in my business after I was shot. Let's not do this to Frank."

There was silence on the other end of the phone then Calleigh said, "You're right. I know you're right. Geez. I can't believe I forgot what it was like …"

"Don't do this to yourself either Calleigh. You're just excited for Frank. I understand that. But … I'm not sure Frank would understand that. You remember that run in I had with Frank back before he and Melissa divorced? He's super sensitive about his private life."

"Like I said, you're right. I'm still glad I know … but I won't be sharing this with anyone else at work."

"Well … if I'm honest, I'm glad to know too. I just hope people don't start gossiping and making the wrong assumptions. Can you imagine IAB tearing into Frank?"

"I guess you haven't seen Penham's video of Vee nearly putting one of the IAB guys in a body slam."

"What?!"

By the time Calleigh was finished giving him a blow-by-blow Eric was laughing so hard he slid out of his chair and onto the floor. Calleigh wanted to laugh with abandon with him but she didn't want to wake the kids. As it was she had to put her robe over her mouth. From there the conversation progressed to more intimate things and after that into the nonsense that lovers tell each other when they are missing the presence of their other half.

# # # # # # # # # #

Ryan gently shut Natalia's bedroom door and then left her house as quietly as he could, making sure to set her alarm. He felt bad for her. This was a different view of the female condition from the one he got seeing his sisters and other female relatives go through this stuff. Natalia had cried one more time then admitted she needed to take the sleep aid that her doctor had prescribed her.

He wanted to call Vee but knew it was be late and she and Frank would likely … uh uh, that way lay nightmares. TMI. No way. Then he had a strange thought. "Maybe I'll call Lexy. Donna mentioned something about her working the late shifts at the hospital. Maybe he would catch her before she went on shift. Having sisters ought to be worth something."

# # # # # # # # # #

In the wee hours of the morning a Florida state trooper made a grisly discovery in Pensacola near an I10 ramp at the state line. Two men in a burned out car. He called it in and when the state investigators arrived and started combing the wreckage for clues they made the discovery of a third body in the trunk, this one female. It was going to take a while to identify them as all identifying features had been destroyed … intentionally destroyed … during the act of the vehicular arson.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Early morning the day after an emotional roller coaster is generally not pleasant. On the other hand, Frank did his best to send both he and Vee off to work in a good mood. On the third hand, he grumbled to himself while he was putting on his tie, a guy is entitled to feel cranky that his woman going off to work could very well end up in her getting seriously injured and stolen from him.

Vee could almost read his thoughts as if he'd grumbled them aloud. "Don't Frank."

"Don't what?"

"Whatever it is you are thinking. I know that hyper-protective look. I should, considering how many times I've seen it since I was born … Daddy, Ronnie, Ryan, Tony. It's not that I don't appreciate it because I do, but you can't protect me from everything out there," she said gesturing vaguely out the door of Frank's condo. "One, it isn't possible and two, out there is what has made me what I am today … and capable of fighting if I have to."

"I know that … I don't have to like it but I know it." Looking like he'd come to a decision he walked over to his closet and bent down. Vee had never invaded Frank's closet, not even to borrow a shirt for sleeping in at night, it had seemed too personal a thing to do until she'd been invited to. What she saw when he pushed a couple of garment bags to the side was an expensive gun safe. He opened the combination lock and then took out a Glock 17. Turning back to her he said, "Ryan says you're licensed CCW and he can vouch for your competency. I want you to carry this. Understand?"

To prove to him as well as herself that his trust was valid, Vee checked the 9mm hand gun stem to stern and then sighted it in before putting it in the back of her waistband in a way that showed Frank she'd had to carry in such a fashion before. It went against his nature to just hand a female in his care a weapon like that but if he'd learned nothing else since becoming a cop – hell he learned it watching his mother and grandmother as a small boy in Texas – the gender of the person holding the gun wasn't nearly as important as was their skill. She'd proven herself so he would have to trust her.

Rather than take her to work, Frank drove the coupe back to Vee's apartment where he picked up his sedan and then they both reluctantly went their separate ways for the day. In fact it wouldn't be just for the day, it would be for the next two days. Frank had a double shift he needed to work to pay back some of the people that had helped him out while he was sick, and then he had to be in court all day the day after that.

Vee only had a half day to work at the marina today but when she arrived she found plans had changed; she wouldn't be working that day … or any other. The yacht club owners wanted their people to start going over things immediately and her position was in the way of what they wanted to accomplish. She offered to help Syd and his wife to move their personal belongings but they had their kids coming to do that. That's when Vee was handed her three weeks of pay and told that, "It's all right, and this will give you time to find another job."

Feeling ambivalent Vee drove away from yet another job that she'd enjoyed and lost and decided to head to the newly purchased house, after hitting the hardware store, to change the locks and get started on a list of prioritized repairs to start knocking off the county's checklist. She'd already applied for the permits for a few things but while she waited for the permits to be issued she figured to at least appear constructive and useful. Vee also texted Frank to let him know what she was up to. He grumbled a bit, called Syd something rude, and then just reminded her to remain situationally aware before having to cut out because he was at the courthouse following up a lead.

Vee had been at it two hours when she heard the gate opening. That wasn't good. Carefully she edged around the side of the garage and saw it was the local security patrol officer … not a real LEO despite the fancy uniform … driving a golf cart.

Vee nearly scared the guy out of a year's growth when she came up behind him and asked, "Can I help you?"

After a minor verbal skirmish which Vee won by providing legal documentation and ID the guy backed down a little as she was an unknown quantity. "Ma'am, it is standard for the residents to give me access to the property via a special gate code."

Vee gave a non-smile and said, "I'll check the HOA bylaws for that. I'll also be passing it along to my …" Stymied for a moment before apologizing to the absent Frank and saying, "… fiancé who is a Detective Sergeant with the MDPD. He'll be able to fill me in on the rest of what is SOP in the area."

"A cop? A cop is moving into the house?" the guy asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Why? Do we have cooties or something? And be honest, we just want a nice place to live and a boat dock. What we don't want is trouble with the neighbors. I'm sure given the past of this house the neighbors wouldn't mind a little peace and quiet themselves."

The guy started relaxing and getting rid of his banty-rooster type attitude. "Uh, neighbors might not care to have a cop car in the drive."

Vee snorted. "Won't catch me out that way. As soon as I get the house up to code and get the electricity and other utilities so that they can be on I'll make sure the cars – and he doesn't drive a marked car anyway – are in the garage. HOA doesn't want cars parking on the street … or driveway apparently."

This time it was the security officer who snorted. "They had to do that because the car competition between the residents was getting out of hand. Silly if you ask me. So really, a cop is going to live here?"

"Yep, and cousin of a cop … well he was a cop, now he is a CSI … which is me. I. Whatever. You know what I mean. I had planned to come to your office the day we bought the place but time ran out and things have been crazy since. Anyway, anything you think I should know to keep peace on the street?"

The security guy liked feeling important, most males generally did in Vee's experience, and her way of talking to him rather than down at him helped get rid of the last of any antagonism there might have been. After that is when she got dished all the neighborhood gossip she could want. She knew who was who and how they got their money, kids if any, and most importantly their "quirks" because Vee had been serious about wanting to avoid problems.

He asked, "You mind if I let people know what is going on if they ask?"

Vee shrugged. "Or if they irritate you just have them come to me directly. No sense in making yourself a target. I'm a big girl, I can take it … and this might be a way for them to see that all Frank and I want is a quiet home life to offset what we have to face at work."

"Now that's a plan I wish my wife would get behind. Man …" And that's when she found out he had five kids; one his, one hers, and three theirs. She also found out a little more than she wanted but filed it away in case it might come in handy later.

The guy finally left and Vee returned to what she'd meant to do. Only she didn't get to because her phone beeped and it was Ryan pulling up to the gate. She grabbed the gate clicker out of her car and opened it so he could drive in. The gate was the only thing that still had electricity and that is because the gate system and the maintenance of it was included in the ridiculous HOA fees she and Frank would be forking out monthly.

"Hey Baby Cuz!" Ryan said in an inordinately good mood.

Vee shook her head, "Just had to get that in didn't you?"

"Gotta christen the place somehow," he answered, grinning.

"Want to look around? I assume Frank told you what happened at the marina."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about the job."

"Eh, I'll live. But I'm definitely going to need to figure something out soon. First purchase I want to make is going to be blinds for the windows."

"Uh oh. Nosey neighbors?"

"I suppose it is only natural but man, their eyes are like drills," she said rolling her own eyes and pretending she hadn't been doing her own bit of staring here and there. "Well come inside."

"I've only got a minute. I was just running down to sign some stuff at the courthouse. Hey, I brought you some lunch."

Vee nearly fell all over him to get to the plastic grocery bag holding a carton of pork fried rice. "I should say you didn't need to but I'm thankful you did."

"Sorry it isn't something better but …"

"Hush. You've already told me you don't have much time so don't waste it talking about something that doesn't matter. Come in already before you get called to the next scene."

Ryan was more than a little impressed with the large and heavy wooden front doors with their cast iron design work but as soon as he was over the threshold all Vee could do was laugh at his horrified expression.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Damn. Frank said this place was a mess but I never … I mean … Are you sure about this Vee?"

Vee looked at her cousin and grinned. "Even more sure than I was yesterday. Come look what I found in the garage. The realtor didn't have the key the day we bought it and I'll be honest and thought it would just be more damage. Frank is going to birth purple puppies."

Ryan wasn't sure that he wanted to know what would cause Frank Tripp to birth anything much less "purple puppies" but he nevertheless followed Vee through the kitchen into what was obviously a large utility and pantry area and then through the side door in there that led to the three-car garage that felt bigger than his condo did.

"Looks like whoever was coming in to do the clean-up didn't trash everything out after all like was reported. They removed the cabinets and moved them out here; I bet they were going to try to re-sell some of it to improve their margin. It also looks like they tried to salvage most of the fixtures. And that pile of mess over there appears to be the wrought iron hand rails for the main staircase. You are looking at roughly a one-third to one-half savings on what I thought we were going to have to spend. But that's not all."

"Oh really," Ryan said still looking shell-shocked at the mess that had been in the house and the bigger mess here in the garage.

"Oh get over it already. You did construction work during college in Boston. Are you seriously telling me you can't see what I'm talking about?"

Slowly Ryan organized things and nodded, then nodded more enthusiastically. "Yeah, I suppose I can but … there is still a lot of work and money ahead of you. And Frank said you plan on doing most of this yourself."

"Well, to a certain extent … I'll act as contractor … and bless you for suggesting it as something to do when I first moved back to Tampa from Biloxi. I haven't used it yet but having a contractor's license made it easier to start pulling the permits and I hope it will help with some of this as well. Frank says he knows a guy that might be willing to install the flooring … and there a lot of it is stacked in boxes. You think you can talk Uncle Ron into lending me his paint sprayer?"

"I have a feeling that Uncle Ron is going to be over here using the paint sprayer himself, or issuing orders to who is using it. You know how he is."

"The micro-managing king."

"And then some," Ryan said agreeing with her assessment. Pointing to a large canvas covered pile Ryan asked, "What's that?"

"That is totally crazy."

"Oh no. What now?"

"Relax, it's not bad but definitely crazy. The thing is trashed but if nothing else we can sell it for parts." She flipped back the canvas cover and slowly Ryan started making sense of what he was seeing.

Spotting the small medallion on the car's hood Ryan's knees almost gave out and he turned into a total guy blathering nonsense and stats … right before saying, "You can't keep this. You don't know who it belongs to."

"Actually I do. And it is in the past tense. As soon as I found it I made a call to prevent possible trouble. It originally belonged to son #4 of the owners and they said he trashed it while road racing, and that it was forfeit for his 'embarrassing behavior'; that when I agreed to take everything and deal with it I couldn't suddenly come back and try and make exceptions. They don't want any further contact, they are finished with this transaction. Everything in the house and on the grounds is now officially my problem yada, yada, yada … bada bing bada boom."

Ryan just looked at her and blinked before shaking his head. "Some people definitely live in a more rarified dimension than I do."

"Uh …"

Quickly, realizing how that had sounded Ryan said, "Not you … uh definitely not you. I just mean …"

"Oh," Vee said in relief. "Well then I agree with you but if they are going to be ridiculous Frank might as well get some benefit from it."

"Frank." Vee didn't see the smirk of satisfaction on her cousin's face because he quickly turned away.

"That's assuming he won't go totally pig-headed like he did about the …" Vee shut up realizing that she was putting Ryan in an awkward position and likely over-sharing what she shouldn't.

"Vee, you might as well give it up … you've already started."

Vee sighed. Then groaned in frustration. "Don't you two start tag-teaming me."

"That bad?"

"Didn't you say you need to get to work?"

"Yep but …"

"Seriously Ra-Ra …" Finally giving into the inevitable because Ryan could be like a dog with a bone when he was after something she explained. "I'm just learning that Frank is a different species of fish from Rob. Rob would have accepted me putting his name on the house with no problem … in fact he would have expected it. Frank … oh … my … gawd … he acted like I had three bolts and a whole set of sprockets loose for doing it. It made me think he was having second thoughts and when I said that he said he was going to put me over his knee for thinking something so stupid."

"He said that?"

"Well, maybe not those exact words but close. I almost missed it and then suddenly he was just irritated and we were sitting down to eat and if his steak hadn't already been dead I would have given serious thought to putting the poor thing out of its misery the way he was stabbing it. Only then boom … I still don't know what I said to fix it but it was like wham … we were out of the restaurant and driving back to his place and then … well stuff and junk and everything was all better with him saying some really nice things I never expected to hear and then all the rest of it. I swear, you guys think we women are complicated?! With Rob all I had to do was feed him and water him and scratch his ego in the right place ever so often and he was just fine. With Frank I feel like I'm fishing for whale with five pound test line." She looked at her cousin and said, "Are you …? Don't you dare laugh you … you ol' … argh!"

"I'm sorry … I'm sorry," he yelled laughing and trying to fend off a roll of trash bags she was swatting him with.

"It's not funny!"

"Sorry … but it is. I think the entire Wolfe family line must have the crazies where the opposite sex is concerned. I called Lexy last night."

Slightly confused at his right turn in conversation she told him, "Yeah, you're crazy all right. Why would you do something like that?"

"It … it actually wasn't bad," he admitted in honest surprise at having a pleasant conversation with one of his sisters. "But get this … Lexy's ex-husband shows up in the pediatric ward with his kid who looks like he got into a fire ant pile and turns out to be allergic to them. Lexy … well you know she thinks kids are the only real humanity left on the planet … and she takes him and does the nurse thing with him and then the kid won't let go of her. Lexy doesn't know what to do because she and Roger … well you remember."

"It wasn't pretty," Vee said with obvious understatement.

"Yeah. Well turns out Roger's new wife left him and the kid and is now his ex-wife too … or ex-wife #2 depending on how you look at it. Anyway, the woman just ran off about six months ago saying she'd never wanted the kid and had only had him because of the pressure Roger put on her but she couldn't take it anymore. See ya, bye-bye. Roger is going nuts trying to get his Pharmacy degree finished … turns out he's got a job lined up at the hospital but there is one hour difference between when the kid has to be out of the hospital daycare and when Roger can get off to pick him up."

Having a feeling she knew what happened Vee said, "She didn't."

"She did. Donna and Mom have already called me blaming me and I can't figure out how I'm supposed to have been at fault when it happened before I even knew about it … anyway the entire family is nuts. That's the only explanation."

Vee looked at Ryan and he at her and they both started laughing. Vee finally stops and says, "Like Daddy always said we all share the same kind of crazy. Unfortunately about half of us can't seem to get along together too well because of it. And speaking of crazy, I haven't heard from Tony … is he … you know … mad at me or something?"

"Uh uh. He's just got a lot going on with the new job that has him hopping more than he expected. Cheryl is getting nervous and it's mostly because …"

"Her I've talked to. The mothers are pulling her this way and that. So tell 'em to elope; you know I did."

"I did too … he said it wasn't worth the blood bath that would result. He and Cheryl figure they have another month or two and then it will all be over with."

"God bless 'em. And you can get that look off your face. If … _IF_ … Frank and I go for the whole enchilada there will definitely not be that kind of fuss for us. Good Lord, I can just see Aunt Mary now." Vee shuddered and then shuddered again as she envisioned trying to do something like shop for a wedding dress. She'd look like a sail from the HMS Bounty if not worse.

Ryan's phone went off and he finally did have to run and Vee really did need to get back to work … but first she was going to scarf her some food. She was starving.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Later at the station Eric called, "Yo Wolfe!"

Ryan was in the middle of thinking about the case he was currently on and only slowly responded. Used to Ryan's OCD reaction to things Eric waited him out until he got to a stopping point. "H wants the team in his office."

"Uh …"

"Don't ask me but it is obviously something serious. Do you know where Frank is because he wants him there too."

A voice from the man striding over to them said, "Frank is right here and what the hell is going on now?"

Eric repeated, "Don't ask me but …"

"It's obviously something serious," Frank said. "Yeah, I heard that part. Let's go get this over with, I've got a crapton of paperwork I need to finish before my friggin' coach turns back into a pumpkin."

Eric and Ryan both looked at each other then gave Frank a chance to get several feet ahead of them. The man was obviously in a foul mood.

By the time everyone assembled, including Natalia who had come in to finish up some casefiles before taking some sick days, Horatio's office was pretty cramped. "Shut the door Calleigh," Horatio directed.

"Frank, Ryan … I need you on your toes with your eyes open. And I will answer everyone's questions if I can in just a moment. First let me tell you that a vehicular arson was reported in Pensacola overnight; it was still on fire when the patrol officer arrived on scene so they are timing it as starting approximately midnight. The car was a rental registered in Hillsborough county. However, the company said that it had been rented here in Miami-Dade with a company credit card. The company in question disavowed any current knowledge of the car renter and in fact said the man left his position a month ago. They hadn't realized he'd still had a company credit card."

"Well that's sloppy," Ryan said.

"Or hinky," added Eric.

"Yes it is gentlemen," Horatio said in agreement with both.

"So the state police wants us to help on our end?" Natalia asks.

"Actually, it was just a courtesy call. Our team won't be able to handle it due to some rather inconvenient connections."

The team got quiet.

"Three victims were found in the car. Two males, one female. One male had had a knee replacement and from that has been identified as the lawyer for Vee Wolfe's assailant."

Immediately both Ryan and Frank stiffened.

"I need to know where you two were at last night."

Natalia surprised everyone by saying angrily, "Ryan was with me until nearly midnight. There is no way he could have driven from here to Pensacola and …"

"Natalia are you willing to give a deposition to that effect?"

"Of course. I was … I was not well …" Then she started crying and Ryan could tell she was on the border of breaking down again.

He moved around in the crowded room until he was facing Natalia and getting her to sit back down. "Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Everyone is a friend here. There's no need to be upset or whatever it is you are."

"It's my damn hormones," she said, sounding furious even through her tears. "The doctor said I can look forward to lots of this until after the surgery and even then it will take time to get things regulated."

Horatio despite his concern said, "Okay, one situation at a time. Frank?"

"I've only got Vee to vouch for my location," he said calmly. Then added, "Of course you might be able to pull something from all of the damn security cameras they have at my complex. You think that will get those little pikers from IAB to put their nose someplace else? Or do I need to have Vee come in and … demonstrate … on them a little more?"

Having seen the video that Officer Penham was circulating Horatio said dryly, "I don't think that will be necessary." Back to being serious he said, "However, it is the identity of the female vic that is going to make this even more problematical." After a pregnant silence Horatio said, "The female vic was the wife of one Robert Porter, former fiance' of …"

# # # # # # # # #

Vee was tired and filthy but in a good mood as she drove back to her apartment. She'd been climbing all over the house and had found a few more surprises but nothing like the car. She was smiling at what Frank would say about it … she was pretty sure they'd have to sell it for parts it was in such bad shape but that alone would pay for a lot of fix up and labor. And maybe she would hold onto the manufacturer's medallion just for hoots.

Pulling into her normal spot she saw a jeep and then got a little worried when she realized it was one from the Porter fleet after spotting the parking decal on the jeep's dash. She debated getting out of her car but then thought perhaps it was someone that Mark Spicoli had sent. However something still felt slanted. She tried to call Spicoli but it just went to voicemail and she told him to call her, that there was a jeep here that didn't belong and she gave the license plate number. Then she texted Frank and Ryan with "urgent" and sent them a pic of the vehicle. She had one foot out of the car door when she was bum rushed from her blind side and tazed. Big or not no one is really proof against that kind of electrical action.

"Where's my son?!"

Vee hadn't recovered enough to say anything that made sense. She'd even dropped her phone, but unbeknownst to any of the people there Vee's finger had brushed the screen and it slid from photo to video right before her finger slid across the button that started taping.

"Where's my son?!"

"Not here Rob," another man's voice said. "Just grab her and throw her in the jeep. We'll take her to the house. Then she'll talk. Or she'll wind up thinking getting blown up in that plane was a cake walk compared to what's gonna happen to her."

Vee was trying to get to her feet. If she had she might have been able to fight, then again hindsight is 20/20 so who knows. Either way it didn't happen because Rob stuck the tazer to the base of her skull and triggered it again.

As they sped away the phone continued to record, and what it saw was another man run up and say, "Oh shit." He then pulled a phone out of his pocket and made a call. "Spicoli, they grabbed Violetta. I was just in time to hear them say they were taking her to the house and it don't sound good. If it was just Rob … but John Thomas is with him. You know what that means."

A lot of cussing could just barely be heard before the man left on the run again and then squealing tires and a car barely missed crushing the phone.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Back at the precinct Ryan and Frank were comparing their identical texts and trying to call Vee to see what was so "urgent." At the same time Horatio's phone rang and he had a sinking feeling it wasn't a coincidence.

"Yes Mr. Spicoli, I'm here."

Ryan and Frank froze.

"Yes, I understand but what you need to understand is that Vee Wolfe is no longer yours, she's ours and you better make it very clear to your superiors that what just happened has now become the business of my team … in a very, very personal way. I want the GPS coordinates for the location … now Mr. Spicoli. And if anything has happened to that young woman …"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Ryan and Frank tried to exit the office at the same time and the door was not proof against them. There was a pop as one of the hinges gave way and a crack of glass as the door hit the door stop too hard. It took both Eric, Horatio, and several other officers that had joined them at a signal from Horatio to slow them down.

"Gentlemen … by the book!" And then for only Frank and Ryan to hear he said, "Until the book no longer works."

It was the second sentence that stopped Frank and Ryan's forward motion more than the pile on.

Horatio began giving out orders in whip-like fashion. "Ms. Boa Vista, you will stay here at the lab. I want you to take charge of all DNA evidence coming in on this case. Personally. Let no one else outside of our team touch anything. Have I made myself clear?"

Natalia nodded, grateful she wasn't being left out despite her most recent emotional display.

"Calleigh, I want you and Ryan to go to the scene of the abduction." When Ryan would have objected he said, "Ryan, it is very simple. You are Vee's next of kin. You hold a power of attorney for her. You are the only one legally able to enter her apartment and car without affecting the chain of possession of any evidence obtained before any other officers arrive. You will recognize what belongs to Vee and what is out of place and/or unusual." Ryan didn't want to admit his boss was correct but after look at Frank's cold blue eyes he nodded, understanding that whatever else happened, he was not alone in protecting his cousin.

"Eric you and Frank are with me. The location is outside of our jurisdiction so we have to be careful, but we have a good relationship with the Broward County Sheriff's Office and we will meet them there."

"Move people."

# # # # # # # # # #

Each team member rushed to their assigned places. Ryan and Calleigh reached the parking lot of Vee's apartment complex at the same time as the two uniformed officers that had been dispatched. Everything was recorded from the on-board dash cams in the patrol cars as well as the body cams affixed the patrol officers' uniforms.

It was actually one of the patrol officers that spotted the phone since it was outside of the car's immediate area where Calleigh and Ryan were gathering evidence. The screen was cracked but the last video recorded still played in HD and sound. Ryan grabbed his own phone but his hands were shaking so bad in anger that it was Calleigh that had to relay his message.

"Horatio? She's been tazed. Ryan thinks there is a strong possibility that, as a result of that and the stress of the situation, she may have a PTSD episode."

"Understood. Tell Ryan that we will handle her with care."

What Horatio didn't say is that given Frank's current state of mind without a doubt it was unlikely that her kidnappers would be given the same courtesy.

# # # # # # # # # #

Mark Spicoli's man in the field, the one that he'd personally sent to keep an eye on Vee, called him about ten minutes later.

"Boss? This isn't looking good. Should I intervene?"

Mark grimaced then said, "No, not unless you are sure Vee is in imminent danger of becoming a casualty."

"You sure Boss? What about if she puts the boys in imminent danger?"

"Stay out of it. Let her have them."

"Er … sure thing. I hear the cops coming. Should I meet them?"

"No. Lt. Caine wants to handle it so let him handle it. Rob and John Thomas already signed their tickets with the Old Man. He said let 'em reap what they sow."

"Yes Sir. Getting to the trees now." His way of saying he understood he was there to observe but not interact or give his position away.

# # # # # # # # # #

Ryan had to walk away after helping to take samples of blood and skin tissue on the parking lot concrete where they'd dragged Vee rather than pick her up before putting her in the jeep.

"Ryan?" Calleigh said, ignoring his non-verbal do not disturb sign. "Eric texted me to let us know they're meeting with the Broward people now. It won't be much longer."

Ryan was trying to control his emotions by breathing in and out of his nose but anyone with eyes could see his fists clinched in rage. And when he responded to Calleigh his voice sounded like it was full of broken glass.

"I've hated that Jackass for so long. I suspected what he was and I … I just …"

Speaking from personal experience Calleigh told him, "Until she was ready to see it, there's literally nothing you could have done. If you had interfered when she was younger it could have made her do the opposite of what you wanted her to and once she became an adult it was even more important for her to make her own decisions. You know this, you did good Ryan, none of this is your fault."

"It doesn't feel that way."

With cautious curiosity Calleigh asked, "What about with Frank now? Do you feel the same way?"

"What? Do I think Vee should be with Frank?" Ryan shrugged. "Yeah, I do. At first … I don't know … Vee is different so I knew she'd need something different. It's a little awkward but … Frank met me for coffee … laid it on the table like … like he knew that without me going along whatever he wanted wouldn't happen the way he wanted it to. Vee … she needs old-fashioned like that; she's unconventional in other ways but at the same time she needs old-fashioned too."

Calleigh knew what he meant because she was unconventional yet old-fashioned herself. That's what attracted her to Eric. As unlikely as it seemed maybe she had something in common with Ryan's cousin. Maybe she could help her … or maybe not. Eric had already suggested she be more cautious and she supposed that was the wisest course of action but she was reminded once again of the trouble that sometimes stemmed from how Horatio would become involved in the personal lives of their team members. She wasn't Horatio, she was going to need to find her own path as a supervisor … and friend.

So reminding herself she told Ryan, "Do you have a key to Vee's apartment. We need to get in there to make sure there isn't another scene to process."

It took a moment but Ryan controlled his emotions, pulled out his keyring, and headed toward the stairs.

# # # # # # # # # #

"Where's my son you bitch?!"

Vee was just barely able to focus her eyes. They'd hit her with the tazer multiple times on the trip to wherever this was. She slurred, "Rob? What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me! It has to be you!"

John Thomas started to taze her again and she told him, "You do that again and when I get ahold of you ol' Rob is going to be the only one capable of creating grandkids. I mean it JT."

"Bitch," he said casually but held off with the tazer. "Did it feel good killing them?"

"Killing who? Clue me in already. I know my brain is a little scrambled but I'd remember killing someone. And exactly when am I supposed to have done it?"

John Thomas Porter looked at her and a niggle of doubt crept into his mind over the plan that his brother Jack had put together. Reluctantly he held back what he wanted to do and instead said, "Rob … I think we're being played."

"No kidding! Hit her again!"

John Thomas shook his head. "Not her Robbie, she hasn't got the cojones to pull something like this off. Now shut up and let me think. Jack said he had proof that it was Violetta that killed them and took the kid. Did he ever show you what the proof was?"

Rob was hysterical. He never imagined he would care about someone the way he cared about his son. He'd done a lot of crappy things to Vee, Jack and John Thomas had listed them all out to convince him when he'd initially doubted that Vee would do something like this. But it all added up, no one could put up with what Vee put up with without wanting revenge. If it had been him he wouldn't have waited this long. Obviously it was part of her plan to ensure he'd get complacent. Bitch. But she should have come after him and not the others … especially not after his son. Suddenly he had a gun and John Thomas was nearly as surprised as Vee.

John Thomas tried to take control. "Put it down Rob! I said I need time to think about this. Something just isn't right!"

Vee looked in Rob's eyes and finally accepted that the Rob she thought she knew was long gone if he had ever really existed to begin with … and that the man standing before her hated her enough to kill her. She started having difficulty telling the difference between Rob, the man standing before her, and the trainee that had tried to kill her and the rest of the team overseas. It was like having double vision; images of the two lay over the top of each other and everything else got blurred around the edges … she was in the plane yet she wasn't, she was in a house yet she wasn't. One minute the men were in polos and khakis and in the next they were in camou gear. She grasped at what she could to keep herself grounded in the here and now. She knew all of Rob's weaknesses, the one's that she'd overlooked for so many years waiting for him to grow up and being the man his grandfather was. Time for waiting was over.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Horatio, it's too damn quiet," Frank growled.

"I understand Frank. Give the others time to get in place. One wrong move and …"

Horatio didn't have to explain the rest. Everyone was all too aware of the potential for the worst case scenario in a kidnapping situation.

# # # # # # # # # #

Ryan entered Vee's apartment ahead of Calleigh and was almost immediately blown backwards by a small explosion. Calleigh who had been coming up the stairs in a hurry saw him stumble backwards and almost go over the rail but she was able to grab him and yank him back just in time. They were both coughing and trying to figure out what had happened when someone stumbled out of what was left of Vee's apartment door, blood streaming from multiple wounds that appeared to cover most of the upper half of the man's body.

# # # # # # # # # #

"Rob, if you shoot me there is going to be blood."

"I don't care!"

"Lots and lots of blood. As close as you are you'll get splattered in it."

Rob was wavering. His haemophobia was an open secret in the family. He'd tried therapies of all types but he just couldn't get rid of it. As soon as she started putting the damn pictures in his head his blood pressure started jumping around. He was getting light headed.

"Rob, you know me. You know me well enough that you fooled me for years. I never suspected a thing. I would have gone right on never suspecting a thing if John Thomas hadn't called me and told me your mom wanted to talk to me right away. It was something about the jewelry you had me wear for the society bash the summer before we broke up. I came running because I thought something was wrong and … walked right into your party."

Rob looked at his brother. "You're the one that called her? I thought you and Jack said she knew and wanted an open relationship, that she was sleeping with Mark Spicoli. And she was just faking the heart break to embarrass me and the family."

Outraged Vee squawked, "What kind of girl did you take me for?! I was faithful to you from the time I was fifteen! I … I even … fought with Ra-Ra over you. How could you …?" For Vee it was almost like ripping open old wounds.

She turned toward John Thomas and the look on her face was another piece of the puzzle for him. He was also starting to get worried; something was all turned upside down. He rushed to tell her, "It was Jack that told me to call you with that story Vee, I swear it. He said it needed to be gotten out in the open and that Rob was too big a coward to do it." Then a few more things fell into place. "It was Jack that said you were fooling around with Spicoli. He said Poppa refused to listen to him about it."

"Oh that's a bunch of bull and you know it. Had your grandfather ever thought it was a possibility I would have been out the … out the door …" Getting sad Vee said, "Well Jack must have convinced him I guess because that is the only explanation for what happened in Tampa. Rob and the lawyers and … and all of it."

"Stop confusing things!" Rob shouted. "I want my son!" He was so agitated that he pulled the trigger without meaning to.

Vee went down, her side burning … burning with the kind of pain she'd felt that day too … that day … She was in shock almost before she hit her knees. Then she looked up and Rob wasn't Rob anymore but was the suicide bomber and Vee knew, just like she'd known that day that there was only one chance. She got her legs under her despite the pain and she sprang at the man. Instead of the door of a plane this time they exploded through a sliding glass door. Instead of being blown back into the plane as had happen then, this time she and the man she was after continued to roll. Just like that day Vee could here yelling and lots of commotion behind her but it wasn't close enough to keep her and Rob from struggling and rolling off the deck at the rear of one of the Porter vacation homes … rolling off the deck and into the swamp that the house backed up to. The water closed over both of them.

# # # # # # # # # #

There was the sound of a single gunshot and every officer surrounding the house tensed in preparation of taking immediate action.

"Go! Go! Go!" the order was given. Over the noise of them entering the house a crash could be heard.

# # # # # # # # # #

"Ryan?! Ryan can you hear me?!" Calleigh yelled.

"Yeah. Help the other …"

"Easy, someone is already on it. Ambulance has been called."

Ryan reached up to rub his eyes, everything was foggy. Calleigh didn't think that was a good idea. "No. Uh uh. Keep your hands down," she told him gently pulling his hands away from his face. Knowing that things were going to be crazy and that Ryan would soon be taken to the hospital she started asking questions.

"Did you see anything when you opened the door?"

"Just a glimpse of a guy. It's why I stopped like that instead of going on in. But before I could say anything … what was it?"

Amazingly it was the other man who answered, "Small explosive device. I dropped it when you startled me coming in."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Name is Paul Letourneau," he said in obvious pain. "My boss is Mark Spicoli. I'm a courier … and I got curious when I shouldn't have. You need to call Mark … warn him ..."

There was a loud crack and Paul was thrown to the side and a large exit wound appeared was visible on his back where a bullet had entered his chest.

"Down! Down! Down! Everyone down!" Calleigh shouted, right before another shot hit one of the other officers in the leg.

Sirens were screaming in the distance. Calleigh prayed back up would get here soon.

# # # # # # # # # #

Frank, gun drawn, rushed through the room as Broward Sheriffs disarmed one man and put him on the ground. He went through the broken slider just in time to see Vee and another man go tumbling off the planks of deck into the murky water below. He also saw that there was blood on the blanks from one of them. His brain had no sooner processed that when his eyes saw a large, scaled monster slide into the water heading directly for the spot where the two had sunk.

"Son of a …!"


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Calleigh?!"

"I'm right here Ryan," Calleigh said. The fact that Ryan hadn't seen her despite her proximity to him was not a good thing. "Stay down. The angle is wrong for the shooter to be …"

Another crack as a bullet hits the stucco on one of the columns that encases the stairwell, way too close for comfort, sending shards of the decorative concrete pelting both Ryan and Calleigh. Visions of Patty and Austin nearly swamped her.

Following the sound of her voice Ryan reached out and pulled Calleigh behind him. He'd thought of her kids too. "Cal …"

"Now is not the time and no you are not doing anything insanely heroic so knock it off."

The cavalry started arriving a second later with nearly a dozen marked cars come in with sirens blaring, surrounding the area in a five-minute time span. Unfortunately, Calleigh didn't think they were going to find the shooter. She'd been trying to tell Ryan the angle that the shots were coming from meant the shooter was too high so the shots were coming from outside the immediate area, most likely from the one of the hotel rooms across the street. She told Ryan to stay put while she made her way down to the SWAT team commander who, in absence of anyone of higher rank, took charge of sweeping the area.

The paramedics were finally allowed in. The injured officer left the scene on a stretcher while Ryan walked with assistance to the waiting ambulance. The body of the man calling himself Paul Letourneau would have to wait for the ME's office.

She finally was able to draw breath long enough to place a call to Horatio.

# # # # # # # # # #

Frank dropped to the deck and looked under it and grabbed the first head he saw. It was Vee and he pulled her up. She had Rob Porter in a head lock and refused to let go even with Frank and Eric, who had just arrived to help, yelling at her to turn him loose. Then the gator struck.

It was like trying to reel in a barracuda and both Frank and Eric nearly went in the water as well. However the gator wasn't in the mood or hungry enough to play tug o' war and let go and swam away quickly. Vee had to be forcefully peeled off of Rob who was screaming and fighting them as well.

"Frank?!"

"She's … she's reliving the explosion," he said while he tried to hold onto Vee's flailing arms.

"Yeah," Eric said. "I get that. Sounds like she thinks this guy here was the bomber."

Horatio ran up with a coverlet from one of the bedrooms and helped Frank to wrap Vee and get her back into the house. She shook nearly as bad as if she was having a seizure. Eric turned to see that one of the sheriff deputies were already calling for emergency services … and a game warden. Gators that would take live humans as pray under any circumstances were given an automatic death sentence.

A moment later Horatio was back helping to secure the area; Eric was standing beside him when Calleigh called. His heart stopped for a moment at hearing there had been an explosion and a sniper. As soon as she'd finished her report Horatio handed his phone to Eric and said, "Make it quick. I need to call out."

All they needed was to hear each other's voices and then Eric handed the phone back to his boss and brother in law with his face saying thanks more than his voice could have expressed.

Horatio nodded then called Mark Spicoli who was already on the move, explaining he was boarding a plane and heading to Miami. After a moment of conversation Horatio asked with barely concealed anger, "You have a man. Here."

Spicoli answered, "Yeah. He was instructed to stay out of your way. I'm coming down, but it isn't to interfere, merely represent the business if needed."

Horatio sneered, knowing that Spicoli was spinning the situation but he let him have it as they had managed to get to Vee in time.

"How is Vee?" Mark wanted to know.

"We are getting her medical attention."

From inside the house John Thomas Porter started shouting. "Is that Spicoli? Tell him it's Jack! Tell him to guard Poppa! Jack set us up!"

Horatio said into his phone, "You heard?"

"I did. Don't let JT fool you. He's as capable of lying as his brother. And he has a sadistic streak. Just one word of warning, if it is Jack he's a deadly shot; and I should know as I trained him. He ran his own team until about three years ago when an IED in Africa blew up the truck he was in."

"Understood," Horatio said before hanging up. Interesting that Mr. Spicoli did not know about the shooter at Vee's apartment complex. Or, maybe he did know and was playing dumb. The man would bear watching.

Seeing that Eric had things in hand outside Horatio returned inside and found Frank and a female deputy taking care of Vee in the kitchen. They'd found towels and made a pressure bandage on what Horatio was informed was a through and through.

"Ma'am?"

"It isn't blood loss I'm worried about at this point, Lt. Caine. The CO says that the ambulance is less than five minutes out but she's going in and out of shock now. What about the guy outside?"

Eric stuck his head in at that moment and said, "I can hear the siren in the distance. We've put a tourniquet on Rob Porter's leg. It's about all we can do at the moment."

Horatio saw the rancid look on the Detective Sergeant's face. "Frank?"

"I'm going to have to go in a separate vehicle. They can't take both of them and me."

The deputy looked up at Horatio and her eyes seemed to say that was a good thing or the other guy might not make it to the hospital.

"I'm going to leave Eric here. Fish & Wildlife will want his description of the gator. Yours as well."

"An APB for a damn lizard," Frank growled in disgust. "How's this? Big, green, ugly and in need of some serious dental work."

Horatio noted a couple of the other deputies in the house were fighting grins. Dark humor was sometimes a necessity in this line of work. Then chaos momentarily reigned as the paramedics arrived and started prepping both Vee and Rob for transport.

# # # # # # # # # #

Natalia was waiting for Calleigh as soon as she got off the elevator with a cardboard box of evidence. "There's more coming but this is it for DNA."

"I'll log it in and get started."

Calleigh stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Are you sure you're okay to do this? We need to talk about whatever you found out from the doctor."

Natalia nodded. "Yes, and we will, but this case comes first. Just tell me how Ryan is."

"Well, he made it to the hospital and luckily Alexx was there to handle him. The blurriness he was experiencing is probably a combination of pressure from the explosion and debris. It was already clearing up as the paramedics washed his eyes out. Alexx will take care of the rest."

"That tells me physically how he is … now how is he really?"

Calleigh nodded. "Worried about Vee but no one knows anything yet. She was still being transported as I had to leave with the evidence. He's also demanding to be kept in the loop with the case. And while I don't blame him it may be a day or two until he can rejoin the team for various reasons." Her phone chimed and when she looked back up from reading the message she said, "Tom is waiting on the body to arrive and can hopefully confirm our vic's identity. He claimed to be one Paul Letourneau. From what I understand they tried to ask Vee if she knew him but they couldn't get her to respond."

"Ryan says she has PTSD."

"Let's hope that is all it is. She did take a bullet … through and through … but she was also fighting with her shooter and they went off the dock. There could be other trauma."

Natalia was worried. Ryan was sensitive though he tried to cover it up most of the time. But she knew from talking to him that he really cared about his cousin and was worried how all of this was going to affect her … and affect her relationship with Frank.

Both women entered the lab and started cataloging the evidence. It wasn't a happy task.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Frank was getting pretty damn sick and tired of hospitals in general and this hospital in particular and as a result was doing battle with himself internally. It seemed like ever since he'd met Vee that's all he'd been seeing between one thing and another. Dammit, don't go there Frank, this isn't her fault. Why the hell aren't they coming out and telling him anything? Maybe if he went to see Ryan. But if he did that and then they came out and called him back to see Vee …

Most people that knew Frank would have said he was a patient man, not particularly emotional comparatively speaking. Fishing, stake outs, running down leads, putting up with the petty bureaucracy you ran into down at the court house … that he could do and generally got his way with a bit of Texas charm thrown in for the ladies. But stupid? Holy hell, stupid he hated with a passion. There'd been more than a few times he'd had to walk out of an interrogation room to keep from slamming someone's head through the wall. You wouldn't have known it looking at him though most of the people knew to stay out of his path when he had a certain look on his face. Usually he bled off some of it with a cutting wit or snarky derogatory remark but that wasn't something he could do here.

Dammit, when are they going to come tell him …

"Frank?"

Frank turned in a flash and if Alexx hadn't known him as well as she did she might have backed up a step … or two.

"Frank, Honey … you ready to see your girl?"

"Hell yes," he said as she began walking him back to the room they'd put her in. Alexx slowed Frank's steps and that started to worry him.

"Okay, give it to me," he said recognizing the signs that Alexx wanted to say her piece.

Alexx smiled gently. "She's mildly sedated; but, the sedation isn't just for the pain. She is extremely upset to have had such a public battle with her PTSD." Then she said very seriously, "Frank if you want a future with this young woman it is very important that you handle this carefully. She's not just embarrassed, she's ashamed. We're having a hard time getting her to respond beyond a syllable or two at a time. Honey, between you and me, she didn't even want to see Ryan. She'd probably curl up if she wasn't hurt. Who am I kidding, if she weren't hurt she'd probably try and get up and walk out … and maybe just take off."

Emotions worked just below the surface of Frank's face. "Well she isn't taking off. End of discussion."

"Just remember what I said Big Guy. I'll walk you back, and leave you two alone, but try and not upset her."

Frank walked into a room that had a little more privacy than most of the beds in the ER area. The room's lights were dimmed but Frank could still make out Vee's still form on the bed and all the crap she was hooked up to. He also saw the restraints hanging down from the bed and knew that they'd used them on her when she first arrived and been so out of it.

Carefully he walked over to the bed but Vee's eyes weren't open. He touched the hand that didn't have the IV in it and she opened them briefly before looking away.

"You shouldn't be here. People … people will …"

"People can go to hell," he told her softly. He wouldn't let her pull her hand out of his, not that there was much strength to her movements.

"I'm sorry … I'm ssssooorry, so sorry," she mumbled but not even closing her eyes kept the tears from sliding down her cheeks.

Frank pulled a rolling stool over by the bed and then sat down, continuing to hold her hand. He took a tissue out of a box sitting on the bedside tray and wiped her tears. "Did that sumbitch … hurt you?"

"Huh?"

"Did either of those sumbitches … touch you … hurt you?"

"No … no nothing like that. Rob was going nuts asking me where his son is. Geez, I didn't even know it was a boy, I thought it was a girl baby. Both him and JT kept saying I killed some people but … Frank … I don't … I don't know what they were talking about. And no one will tell me anything. What did I do? Did I have some kind of … episode? Did I hurt someone?"

"No," he growled thinking there were some damn stupid people walking the planet. They could have at least explained things to her. "Sweetheart, we got a call today that … that the guy that attacked you, the lawyer that got him out of jail, and Josette Porter … they were found dead." He didn't tell her the circumstances. She could find that out later.

"What? God, my head is all fuzzy … did you say …? All three of them?"

"Yeah. Positively identified before Horatio was called in. The bodies were discovered up in Pensacola."

"Did … did they find the baby?"

"No. I don't know anything about any of that."

"But … but if they … I'm just not … why did they think I had anything to do with it?"

"Because they are dumbasses."

"Someone needs to call Gerhard … or maybe Jack. Or … or Mark Spicoli. One of the three … I … I don't …"

"Them people aren't your problem. The only thing you need to focus on is letting me take care of you. It hasn't even been a day and I was already missing the hell out of you. But we are going to have to have a serious discussion about you being in danger and getting hurt. It ain't working for me Sweetheart. If you don't want me to lock you up someplace safe then you need to cooperate and work with me on this."

Vee's lip trembled a bit before she said, "That's not why I need to be locked up. I'm a menace. I heard them saying that … that I was dangerous. They had to tie me down. I couldn't stop fighting … oh god Frank … I probably hurt someone."

"Hush. Alexx didn't say anything about that. If it bothers you that much I'll ask but if they don't say anything then it doesn't matter."

It wasn't just Vee's lip that was trembling, she started shaking all over and saying, "It was like that day all over. That's all I could see. All over again. Like in my dreams. I can't stop it … just like I couldn't stop him. So many people were hurt because I wasn't fast enough."

Frank didn't understand much more after that but he finally got her settled down and when a nurse came in fifteen minutes later all she saw was Frank gently brushing her face as Vee slid into a light sleep.

"Excuse me, we're going to up her pain medication and move her to a room upstairs. Give us about forty minutes or so and you can come up."

Frank nodded but stayed with Vee until he was sure she was completely out, then he tucked her cold hand under the cover and let the medical staff do their job.

He then walked back out thinking he should let Ryan know what was going on; however, when he got out to the main waiting area he found Ryan sitting in a wheelchair wearing dark sunglasses, and Horatio and another man sitting near him.

Frank asked, "Ryan? Should you be out?"

"I'm fine, they said you were back with Vee and only one … dammit … how is she?"

"Shook up," he answered trying to be honest without revealing how upset he himself was over her condition. "Mostly she kept …" Then he turned to the third man and asked, "Who the hell are you?"


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The man looked him up and down, saw there was absolutely no back up in Frank and decided to introduce himself like he wasn't as jealous as he was.

"Spicoli. Mark Spicoli. I was Violetta's team leader."

Frank snorted then said, "Then answer me this Mr. Team Leader, why the hell does Vee think the explosion was her fault?"

Ryan yelped a startled, "What?!"

Spicoli looked confused for a moment then realized something. "She's never told you what happened has she?"

"Yeah, a trainee turned out to be a suicide bomber. There was a couple of different explosions and some of your team were killed."

Spicoli's jaw worked before saying, "That's what happened but that's … that's only the big picture. Devil is in the details as they say. And before you start thinking thoughts, my brother has PTSD so maybe I know what I'm talking about and I'm saying that Vee ain't at fault. In fact if it wasn't for her the plane would have been blown up mid-air and we would have all had our tickets punched."

Horatio interjected himself before the other two men could allow their anger to get away from them. "Please explain," he told Mark.

"It wasn't my idea to bring Vee in. Hell, I hadn't even wanted her in the area but I got overruled by a man who isn't around to hold accountable. He was one of the casualties on the ground during the second explosion."

Horatio nodded. "We understand. Please continue."

"Basically we were there training mechanics so they could maintain their own equipment … the purchased and … let's call it the found variety. Vee is damn good and we actually had a few female trainees. They're valued on a certain level because their hands are smaller and they can get into places the men either can't or won't for whatever reason; like the plumbing on the planes, that sort of thing. So that was the justification to bring in Vee. As a special surprise we'd been given permission to take the graduate trainees up in one of the planes they'd been working on. Vee was most familiar with that particular plane because it had mostly been used to train the females. But the males were given first dibs on going for a ride. We had just gotten airborne and were heading towards cruising altitude when this one guy starts acting strange and blathering on in the native dialect. I see Violetta's face and knew immediately there was trouble. She's got an ear for languages and turns out she understood most of what he was saying. Then without warning he pulls open his jacket and he's packing high explosives. I can still see it all happening. Everyone in cargo is going nuts, even our people. Vee releases her restraints and lunges at the guy and pins him so his hand can't go for the detonation ring. The guy's other hand grabs for the door lever … and we can all see it, one way or the other he's taking the plane down. Then the door flies open and the plane is really rocking because of pressure changes, equipment rolling around and weight not being distributed properly, you name it. A roll of the plane and Vee loses her balances and she goes to her knees. We all know the guy is about to pull the chord when that crazy woman lunges at him again and is prepared to go out the door with him just to get him out. I'll swear to the day I die she was completely out of the plane when the explosion occurred and God only knows how but she was blown back in. The problem is the explosion tore one of the engines to shit and we were going down. We had a damn good pilot but he didn't have a whole lot to work with at that point. We touch down right as a secondary explosive device goes off …"

Spicoli had to stop and the other three men understood that it wasn't just Vee that came away with some damage.

"The locals … they'd been scared off and … and we couldn't leave our people … what was left of some of our people … just laying out in the sun to … to …" He coughed to clear his throat of emotion. "So we did what we had to. Even blown to shit Vee showed more courage and stamina than some of the men on our team and the other two that were with us. They were puking and … and in general making things worse. Not Violetta. None of us realized she was in more than the same shock as the rest of us. We didn't even know how bad she was injured until she passed out on the flight back to base. She got shipped straight to Germany and then back to the states. All I got told was that she was treated and released, then a little while later that her name was not to be spoken again."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Frank snarled, still reeling from the facts of the story.

"Just what I said. At first we just thought that it was because of the heat we were taking because women were in a combat area … only it wasn't a combat area until afterwards when one of the local warlords took responsibility for the bombing. Our whole team got broken up after that and that's when I found out about the brou-ha-ha between Violetta and Rob and what went down in Tampa. That's when things got twisted. People believe what is easiest for them to believe. Some things got said and … supposedly there was proof. I feel like shit I believed it."

In a dead voice Ryan said, "I hope to hell you do. I hope to hell you feel it like a knife in your gut every night when you close your eyes and go to sleep. You assholes nearly destroyed her." He tried to stand but Horatio forced him back down into the wheelchair. He hadn't reckoned with just how furious Frank was.

Frank and Mark were nearly of a height and build. Frank had ten years on the guy but they weren't soft years. Frank had Mark by the throat before anyone was prepared for it. Even Ryan in his anger hadn't expected the move.

"Now you listen to me asshole," Frank growled. "Whatever you once were to Vee you are no longer. You lost your chance. You don't try and see her. You don't talk to her. You don't even breath in her general direction. And you'd best be a nice little dog and tell the ones that hold your leash the same goes for them. Because you do not want to know what I will set in motion if you do anything other than what I just told you. You got me?"

Mark jerked away from Frank and angrily straightened his clothes. "I don't think you understand the situation here. I have an obligation to …"

"You can take whatever obligation you think you have and shove it up your ass. Do … not … mess … with … me … or … mine. You got a damn mess in your own litter box. Spend your time on that … you leave Vee alone."

There was a deadly look in Frank's eyes that told Mark that the man was stone cold serious. Rather than respond directly to the threat he saw there he turned to Horatio and said, "I'll be in touch." Then he walked away.

Frank snarled, "Ass wipe."

Both Horatio and Ryan were trying to think whether either of them had ever seen Frank that angry then Ryan shrugged and figured it didn't matter. He said, "You include me. Whatever it is, you include me."

Frank was barely capable of doing more than giving a small nod. He continued to breathe through his nose like a bull that had seen a read cape for a few more minutes while Horatio reassured the hospital security that there wasn't a problem.

# # # # # # # # # #

Eric walked into the lab and asked, "Has H come back yet?"

Calleigh answered, "He is supposed to be on his way in. He wanted to stop by the hospital first."

All the while the two were looking at each other, taking in every bump, scrape, and tear in their clothing; every smudge and out of place mark. It was Calleigh that asked, "Are you okay?"

Showing some exasperation, he answered, "Am I okay? You faced down a sniper and an explosion."

She smiled gently and told him, "Don't exaggerate. It was only a small explosion and I was never the target of the shooter."

"Still," he grumbled.

"Still … when we get to a stopping point and can run by the house …" She gave him a look … their look … the one they used at work that meant a lot more than it appeared on the surface.

"Yeah. What about the kids?"

"Your sister said she'd watch them for the night."

That surprised Eric enough that all he could ask was, "Which one?"

Calleigh chuckled, "Loretta. I called your mom when I saw the case made the news to let her know you were safe. Loretta was there and one thing led to another. They're watching the kids … I'm supposed to be watching you."

Eric was irritated for about two seconds before saying, "Sounds like a plan."

Softly Calleigh told him, "Yes it does."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The night was much calmer than the day. John Thomas "JT" Porter was bailed out in the early morning hours and was taken by Mark Spicoli and a handful of Porter security specialists to a local hotel where he was installed in a suite and forbidden to leave the room under any circumstances, even if the place was collapsing around him. Nor was he permitted a phone or visitors except for the lawyer his father had sent to represent him.

Rob Porter was in the ICU. The punctures and tears to his lower leg were treated but drainage ports were in and being closely monitored as there were already signs of infection. Alligators, similar to Komodo Dragons, have bacteria in their mouth that is transferred at the time of injury. This bacterium causes more fatalities than the actual bite injuries do. They were pushing heavy doses of antibiotics through Rob but only time would tell if they were effective enough.

Jack Porter was eventually located in bed with a woman in Biloxi; the woman was not his wife. She and several other witnesses gave evidence that Jack was nowhere near Miami at the time of the shooting and in fact he denied most of what his brother, John Thomas, claimed against him.

Vee was questioned once again and was able to identify Paul Letourneau. She was heartsick at his death, having known him since grade school, and informed Horatio that he had three younger sisters that would be left without a benefactor and protector. Horatio passed the information along to the authorities in Biloxi who said they would handle that end of it. Horatio felt bad for the girls but there was nothing he could do. Bad things happened and the innocent suffered. Hopefully these innocents wouldn't suffer any more than could be helped.

Ryan finally got to see Vee and in typical cousinly fashion told her not to be an idiot. There was no way he was ashamed of her, nor was he embarrassed. He never had been … except for that time she walked in on him and Teeny Bellevue while he was in college, thoroughly traumatizing him for life. He actually got a small smile out of her for that little salvo but it wasn't long after that that she fell asleep and it was suggested that the men let her sleep the remainder of the night and for them to go on about their business.

Ryan was sent home with a couple of strong pills, to take and then sleep off, to deal with the growing migraine caused by the ache in and around his eye sockets. He was also given a prescription of antibiotics just to be on the safe side to prevent any incipient eye infection from being able to take hold.

Horatio spent the night in his office – a not uncommon occurrence so it wasn't remarked upon – building a timeline of events and trying to determine exactly who and what the danger was. Frank, after running by Vee's apartment to make sure it was properly secured and to remove the list of valuables that Ryan had given him, drove to the precinct and told Horatio of Vee's suspicion that it was corporate espionage but, in his assessment, there was a great deal too many seemingly personally-motivated hits for that to be all it was. Horatio agreed with Frank but added Vee's information to the sumtotal of the case file.

Eric and Calleigh did eventually make it to her home … and spent the remainder of the night there together, wrapped in each other's arms. It had been so long since they'd had a whole night together that, despite the seriousness of the case, they were reluctant to get up and start the day.

Eric finally said, "No driving in together."

"I wish we could," Calleigh said with a sad smile. "But we've set rules for ourselves. We do however need to get over to your sister's house and pick up the kids."

"I've already spoken with her. She asked if the kids could stay for a play date with her bunch of monos[1]. Loretta said she'd keep the commotion down to a dull roar but Mom and all the grandkids are going to come over and she doesn't want Austin and Patty to feel like they are being sent home because they aren't wanted."

Calleigh was briefly concerned and then said, "So long as she doesn't think that I'm just pushing the kids on her. I …"

Eric took her in his arms and said, "Stop worrying. My sisters do this with each other's kids all the time. Let Austin and Patty at least try. I told Loretta to call you if they look like they are getting overwhelmed but she said they seemed fine, especially after you called and told them goodnight."

Calleigh smiled at Eric's look of bemusement. Patty had insisted on talking to him and telling him he needed to use his real troll growl at work and that she could tell the different between pretend and real. It was so sweet. Austin said goodnight to him too after being reassured that Eric would help with his math before his quiz next week like he'd promised. She smiled even bigger when Eric said, "They're good kids. Maybe they're getting to like me."

# # # # # # # # # #

Across town at the hospital Vee woke up to hear Frank talking softly on the phone over near the door. "Look Dan, I get it. You're busy trying to work and feed your family, your parents and Coral are on the Gulf Coast, and you hear through the grape vine I'm here in the hospital and you want me to go talk to Melissa's doctors. Like I said, I get it. But you need to understand that … that I can't keep doing this. I went up there last night like you asked and she started pitching a damn fit about me abandoning her, that I was preventing the kids and the rest of the family from seeing her, that I was trying to have her committed so that I could go out and have all the young thang I could handle. And yes, that's exactly what she said for the whole damn floor to hear."

Dan sighed and said, "I'm sorry Frank. I guess I'm just at my wits end."

"Like I said, I get it. But you and the rest of the family … and that includes my kids … are going to have to stop believing that I can somehow magically fix what's broke in Melissa. I couldn't do it when we were married. I sure as hell can't do it now. And … and you people aren't the only ones with other responsibilities. If Melissa is well enough to start making this kind of fuss, then it is time you listen to her doctors and admit she needs to be in a rehab setting. Talk to her lawyer and see if he's been able to make any headway with the prosecutor. I had my doubts about whether Melissa was faking or not but … but she's too consistent to be faking all of it. And seeing me doesn't do anything but stir her up. Seeing the kids? I don't know what that would do because she doesn't want to believe that her memories are at least eight years out of date. She thinks they're still little kids. She completely freaked Shelly out on the phone the other day."

A few more things were said then Frank disconnected. Vee nearly cried to see how tired he was … physically and emotionally. He leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, breathing deeply like it was some stress management technique. Then he opened his eyes and took one step back towards her when he spotted her eyes open, watching him.

He tried to play off what she'd obviously witnessed and Vee let him. "Hey Sweetheart. They said they'd be bringing a breakfast tray in shortly."

"Not hungry," Vee said quietly while trying to move and not look like it created the pain that it did.

"Here, let me help."

"Frank …"

In a stern voice Frank said, "Look at me woman. You are not going to push me away. You are going to let me help. I'm not asking you to act grateful, just let me do it."

"I just can't get yesterday out of my head. It had started out so good … then … then … and I made an ass out of myself and …"

"Shhh," he told her, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "I can just keep talking at you and telling you the way things really are … no one blames you for anything, you have no responsibility for what happened to you, this wasn't your fault … but until you are willing to believe that it won't do a damn bit of good. So, all you need to understand is that it is how I feel. Got it?"

After a moment Frank sensed some of the tension leave her body and she nodded. "Can you tell me what's going on?" she asked.

"Vee …"

"This is going to sound horrible Frank but … but it isn't because I care about what happens to Rob or JT but because I need facts to get things straight in my head. I feel all … all turned around and inside out … and not in the good sense when you make me feel that way."

He saw she was really making an effort. He also realized that she really meant it when she said she did not care about what happened to her ex, and with his own experience he understood that was partly what was causing her discomfort. It is a difficult reality to face to once feel so much and then to suddenly feel nothing, or less than nothing. Making a decision he told her the specifics he knew about the Porter brothers and then some generalities about the case to put it in perspective, leaving out the damage to her apartment. He also told her what he'd said to her former team leader.

"You okay with that?" he asked her when he was finished.

With no hesitation Vee said, "Yes."

"But?"

"No buts. I'm just … just still dealing with anger I thought I was over. None of them … none of them … called me directly to verify any of it. Without hesitation they all just believed what they were told to believe."

Summing it up he said, "They hurt your feelings."

"Yes dammit they did," she admitted. "Maybe I'm being a girl about it but that's what happened and how I feel about it."

"Shhhh, I didn't mean to get you riled up. You're shaking again."

"Frank … I'm a mess. Look at me. I can't ask you to deal with me being the way I am after you've already been through hell with Melissa."

"You're going to knock that off right the frick now. Totally different set of circumstances. Melissa had multiple chances to deal with her crap … the crap she brought on herself and the rest of us. You … dammit …" He asked her why she'd never explained in detail what had happened on the plane.

"What's to explain? It was a disaster and people died."

Weighing very carefully what he wanted to say he told her, "Sweetheart I am going to tell you something that no one wants to learn. It is a hard fact of life but that doesn't stop it from being one of the truest facts on this planet." When he was sure he had her undivided attention he said, "You can't save everyone. And more, sometimes you shouldn't."

Vee paled and blinked like he'd actually hit her. Frank knew he wasn't being cruel on purpose, he only hoped that Vee would come to understand it.

"Listen to me. I know. I've seen too many bodies … in the field, in the morgue, and some still walking around though they would have been better off in the morgue." Drawing on his well of life experience he explained, "People die. Sometimes those deaths are unjust. Sometimes death comes too soon and sometimes it takes too damn long. Sometimes death is at the hands of others and sometimes it is self-inflicted and sometimes there is no damn good reason one way or the other. There are deaths that make you sad or angry and there are deaths that make you want to dance in the street. Sometimes someone's death doesn't mean shit to anyone. The only constant from case to case is that death is an inevitable part of the human condition. You can't rationalize, justify, or bribe your way out of it … if you are alive at some point, at another point you are going to die. Call it fate, or karma, or life's bitch slap … those men, your friends, they had a date with death. That day was their appointment. You did what was your job to do and some people lived because of it. Those that didn't don't then get made tally marks against you. You did what you could with what you had at the time … and God decided that day wasn't your appointment time. Be grateful for that. Grieve your friends' passing. Then let them rest in peace instead of trying to climb in the grave with them. If they really were your friends they wouldn't want that. And if they weren't your friends they don't deserve you bleeding out for them over and over. Stop digging up bones, because there's people still living that are damn grateful you are here and they don't want you to go away."

There was very little more said as the promised breakfast tray arrived. Vee only managed to eat a few bites before her medication kicked in. She pushed the tray towards Frank and asked him to finish it, which he did, and then he kissed her forehead, telling her to rest while he kept his court appearance, that he would be back later in the day and if he could he'd tell her any new details. He left in a hurry but only after reminding the floor nurse that Vee wasn't supposed to have any visitors other than himself and the ones approved by her cousin and if someone not on that list did attempt to stop by that they needed to call either him or Ryan to get permission first.

# # # # # # # # # #

In a different wing of the hospital Mark Spicoli watched as Rob's doctors used a black permanent marker to draw around the area of enflamed flesh on his leg. It was obvious that Rob was feverish and they were keeping him sedated due to that and his phobia regarding blood which was playing havoc with his blood pressure. The blood pressure issue only exacerbated the spread of the infection that was taking more and more ground inside his body. The new demarcation line was significantly bigger than it had been a couple of hours earlier.

Mark stepped out of the ICU wing and made a call back to Biloxi, telling Rob's parents they better come even if it did create problems. Things weren't looking good for their youngest son. Then he went to the parking garage to find some privacy to make some additional calls that he didn't want anyone knowing about.

* * *

[1] _Monos is the Spanish word for monkeys._


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Vee's kidnapping was far from the only criminal case in Miami and no matter how much some of the team wanted it solved post-haste, the reality was that there were other cases equally as important to those victims that needed to be addressed.

With two team members out, those that remained had to work twice as hard. Walter, earning his stripes and working hard to get that CSI II designation at his next review, covered his work and Ryan's too. The only fly in that ointment was that Ryan kept calling.

Finally in sympathetic frustration Walter told him, "Dude, get some rest and you might make it into work tomorrow. I can handle your absence for one day."

There was silence on the other end before Ryan said, "I feel like crap Walter. I can't even drive to the hospital to see my baby cousin, to be there for her. I finally wound up calling my sister Lexy and she said she looked in on her twice but that she was asleep both times. They think she might need exploratory surgery to see if something got knicked that was missed. She registering anemic and low blood volume and the numbers keep sliding rather than getting better. I … I'm glad she has Frank but …"

"But you're used to being the one that gets the call."

"Yeah. I am," Ryan finally admitted. "And then there is Natalia. Did … uh … did she …"

"She told us all last night, me by phone. Man, I wish someone would have called me in. I could have handled missing a day off."

"Don't. At least you've got fresh eyes to lay on the evidence and the other cases. At least you don't have to answer your phone by feel because you have to keep the lights off. I feel … I feel like I'm letting people down."

"When my mom was so sick last year I felt the same way. It sucks. But right now your primary job is to let the pills do the work, give your eyes a rest, and come back to work soonest. And, let the rest of us do our jobs."

Finally Ryan admitted that the headache was coming back and that he'd be better off putting some drops in his eyes then trying to sleep it off.

"Walter?"

Walter turned to find Horatio standing there and endured a bit of interrogation from him before being allowed to pass on and continue to pick up the lab results that were waiting.

In other words the lab was still functioning but there was no doubt adjustments were being made to address the shortage of those on deck. Everyone was hoping that Ryan would be in tomorrow but there was no guarantee. Frank was there but he wasn't, as he addressed both a work backlog and his personal affairs. Natalia Boa Vista would be out at least a week and she would definitely be missed in the DNA lab. Horatio appreciated how meticulous she always was. In fact he sat down at his desk and added the new information that came in from her final reports to the picture he was building. When Horatio's phone rang he found it an interesting coincidence that it was Mark Spicoli.

"Mr. Spicoli," Horation said answering his phone.

"Lt. Caine. I thought I would give you a courtesy call to notify you that the Porter child was located."

"That's good news. Might I enquire where."

Horatio could hear the man opening what sounded like a sliding door then closing it. More than likely he was now standing on the balcony of his hotel room.

"Josette left the kid with her sister. The sister tried to blackmail Rob's parents … cash for the kid. She was taken into custody by the feds up in Mobile … Mobile, Alabama."

"Ah yes, crossing the state line means it is federal jurisdiction. That should create some interesting problems for our spy slash sniper."

Spicoli cleared his throat then said, "I need to talk to your man … Frank Tripp."

"Why?"

"I need to speak with him Lt. Caine. It's … personal."

Using his secondary phone Horatio texted Frank and Frank said to give "the asswipe" his phone number. Horatio then relayed the information – minus the interesting nomenclature – to Spicoli. Then with nothing more forthcoming said goodbye and got back to work.

# # # # # # # # # #

An hour later Frank was on his way to arrange for Vee's belongings to be moved to his condo when he got a call. "Tripp."

"Spicoli."

It was like two dogs weighing the other before going for the throat. Spicoli was good at what he did. Frank was better and did it every day … waiting people out.

Finally Spicoli gave the reason for his call. "I need to speak with Violetta and I have been denied access to her room."

Frank grinned victoriously though it couldn't be seen by the other man. "Good. That means that the hospital staff are doing their job."

"I want to be on her visitor list."

"Too bad. Ain't happening. You got a message for her, I'll relay it."

There was silence on the other end. "I understand your … concern Tripp, but I mean Violetta no harm."

"Coulda fooled me. Your 'man on the ground' could have stepped in. Instead Vee got shot. And since you are the one that gave him those orders that makes you an asshole in my book and no way in hell are you getting anywhere near her."

"Dammit man, I've known Violetta for ten years. I'd never hurt her."

"That's another line of bull. You've already hurt her … or don't you think that just sending her off to Germany and not ever following up to see how she made out constitutes pain."

"So she does have feelings for … about what happened."

"Did being the operative word Spicoli. You dropped the friggin' ball in a big way. It was your job to protect her, you failed. You don't get a second chance."

There was another pregnant pause. "I'm not asking for, nor seeking, what you call a second chance … at least not the way you are taking it. I actually need to ask her some questions regarding what happened … in Biloxi and in Tampa."

"Why?"

"Mr. Porter Sr. is trying to determine who is the problem in the company."

"I thought that Gerhard dude is in charge."

"He is but the Old Man wants to clear up the loose ends."

"Sure he does."

"Believe me or don't, it doesn't change the facts. And … I need to inform Violetta that … that Rob isn't looking good. They've only been able to slow down the infection, not stop it or reverse it."

"You …," Frank growled. "No way in hell are you dumping that on her when she's in the condition she is in."

"And that would be?"

"None of your friggin' business."

Finally showing his anger Spicoli said, "Dammit to hell … is she going to be okay or not?!"

"What the hell do you care? You've been out of touch with her for over …"

"I said I was sorry! I was lied to."

"Dumbass, if you knew Vee at all you'd know she would have never been unfaithful to the jackass … or disloyal to that lunatic family her ex is part of."

"And if you knew her at all you'd know that she's capable of a lot of things. Her code name was Valkyrie. She was brilliant, beautiful. She could …"

"She still is you dimwitted …" Frank let go a string of cursing that would have impressed a Merchant Marine. "Not even you asshats could destroy her but you gave it your best shot. I am not letting you take another one."

"Fine," Mark ground out reluctantly. "Be in the room when I ask the questions. You have final say when I'm to leave, if I upset her too much. But it needs to be soon. It has to be either John Thomas or Jack. But they both have alibis at various times and I'm looking for proof to see which one is lying."

"Or both of them are lying and they're in it together."

"That possibility does exist. I just need to ask Violetta a few questions. Tonight?"

"I'll let you know."

And that was as good as Spicoli was going to get.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

It was almost four, almost quitting time, and Calleigh was closing down her work for the day. Then she got a call.

There was a little wheezing and then she heard a voice ask, "Ms. Duquesne?"

"Yes. Who is this?" She looked at the phone number again and saw it was from the hospital, then asked, "Vee? Is this Vee Wolfe?"

"Yeah. I'm … I'm calling from my room at … at the hospital. They'll be in here in a minute to dope me up again and … and I just thought of something. Frank gave me his Glock 17. I … I had it in a waistband holster. I know I did. But I can't remember Rob or JT taking it and … and no one said if it was recovered. I … I just … it's Franks. I gotta make sure it didn't get lost. Please. I was responsible for it. If I lost it … I … I think it might have been Frank's service piece. I … shouldn't have taken it but …" Vee started coughing again and the pain took away her ability to speak for a moment.

"Vee, are you sick?"

"No. Yeah. I guess. Fever but … anyway … the Glock?"

Concerned but at the same time understanding Calleigh told her, "It was recovered at the abduction scene. It was in your glove compartment."

"Uh … no … I mean how did it get in there? I never … I don't remember … can't stand things to rattle around while I drive … It was in the glove compartment? You're sure?"

"Ryan recovered it."

"Oh … then how did I get the bruise?"

Not quite understanding the question Calleigh said, "Excuse me?"

"The bruise. On my back. Frank said it looked like I had landed on it. But … I guess … never mind. I just needed to make sure that I didn't … " She coughed again then said, "Doggone, here comes the medical cart, I can hear it. Um, don't tell Ryan. I know he's worried … and if I forgot … just …"

"I'll take care of it Vee, you just focus on getting well."

She rang off without even saying goodbye. Calleigh looked at her phone then returned to doing paperwork but couldn't get the strange call out of her head. Just to satisfy her own curiosity she decided to take a second look at the gun which was still in evidence since Frank hadn't signed for it.

"Eric?"

"Yeah Cal?"

"Do me a favor and give me another set of eyes on the video from Vee's phone?"

"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Yeah, any sign that she was wearing a waistband holster, and if she was, whether the gun was in it or not."

Eric wasn't sure where she was going but he'd learned to trust her instincts. He sat at the AV desk and started re-watching the video while Calleigh headed to the lab to check out the gun they had collected at the scene.

Thirty minutes later he saw her rush to Horatio's office. "We've got a problem."

"Another one?" Horatio ask facetiously.

Normally such a question would have caused Calleigh to at least stop and give a small smile but not this time.

"The Glock that Ryan recovered from Vee's glove compartment does not belong to Frank." That did grab Horatio's attention. Calleigh explained and then said, "I just needed to cross my t's and dot my I's. She was so sure and then so confused, I just wanted to double check. Remember the Jiffy Mart case that Frank ran into off-duty?"

"Yes."

"Well it was the Glock 17 that he shot the robbery suspect with. I had to run it through ballistics at the time and I still have everything on file. I noticed Frank had stopped carrying it but didn't say anything because …"

"Because the suspect was just a kid. I remember the particulars of the case."

"Yeah, well apparently he just put the gun away but then gave it to Vee to carry for protection."

"I read the report Calleigh."

"Good but what I'm trying to say is that it was assumed that Frank gives Calleigh a Glock 17. A Glock 17 was recovered from her glove compartment. Ergo, it must be the same Glock 17. But it isn't."

"It isn't," Horatio said. "And you're sure of this."

"Absolutely. I checked the striations and the vin number against my previous records. They don't match. I called Frank and he said the one he gave Vee was the one that he'd used in the Jiffy Mart case. I checked the prints and none of them on the gun are a match to Frank which doesn't make sense if it is his gun. I need to run Vee's ten-card as well to see if she even touched the gun in the glove compartment. Right now I am having Eric go over the video we recovered from Vee's phone to try and determine if she was wearing the gun when she was abducted on not."

Both she and Horatio went to the AV lab to find Eric staring hard at the computer screen and playing things back and forth.

"Eric?"

"She was wearing the gun Calleigh. Definitely. See right here?" he asked showing them a sequence of frames where Vee's shirt pulls up just enough to show a holster and the black grip of a gun. The frames are during the time sequence when she was being dragged away.

"Now watch this." They see and hear the man identified as the man that Mark Spicoli had watching Vee's place run onto the scene, call Spicoli, and then run off. Eric stops the tape. "Now listen to these next few frames."

Calleigh wasn't sure what Eric wanted them to hear and then there was a faint thump and then an even fainter thump follow by a third thump.

Horatio said, "Car door opens. Glove compartment is opened and then closed. Then the car door is closed. But there's no way to prove this is Vee's car door being opened."

"Yeah, there is … or close enough. Watch the vibration of the driver's side mirror. It is just barely visible but it's there." He played the sequence again and indeed there was a very slight vibration to be seen that corresponded with the thumps.

Then he panned in and enlarged a small sliver of light from under the car. "It's not much but watch."

It was a shoe, or part of a shoe, just barely visible right before the thumps occur. "And before you ask, I checked the shoe against what Paul Letourneau was wearing. If this was Letourneau … which the timing makes circumstantially possible … he changed into dress shoes and tan slacks after being in black boots and blue jeans."

Wracking his brain for how to maximize this new evidence Horatio asks, "Can you extrapolate shoe size from what we have?"

"Maybe," Eric answered and then realized he might even be able to get an approximation of height if the blur in the picture turned out to be a shadow cast by the shoe wearer.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Frank's phone chimed right as he was pulling into his condo complex. He was using an entrance he didn't normally use just because he had a feeling that Spicoli was going to dog him and he felt like pissing the guy off. "Yeah Horatio. What's up?"

Horatio could hear how tired his old friend was and it made him even more determined to warn him. "Frank, the Glock that was recovered at Vee's abduction site was not yours."

"Huh? What gun? I got a call from Broward last night that they'd recovered my Glock from under the dock. It looked like she'd lost it when Vee and the jackass went into the water … or during our fight to get them out of the water. Fish and Wildlife found it when they were trying to get DNA evidence on the gator so they could make sure they euthanize the right lizard."

"Hmmm," intoned Horatio thoughtfully. "Do you know if Vee owns a Glock?"

"After I gave her mine she told me she was so familiar with it because a Glock is what she used to carry when she worked for Porter International."

Both men became concerned at the same time. "Shit!"

"Frank, this is what I want you to do. From this point forward Vee is not to be alone under any circumstances. I will see if an officer can be assigned to her room. I want the best timeline you can create for me regarding Vee's movements. Try and …"

"I get it … do what we do but don't let Vee know why we're doing it. Just don't plan on it taking long for her to figure out something more is going on. She's sharp … and I suspect her job was a hell of a lot more complicated than your average mechanic. It sounds like she was being groomed by Porter Senior for something bigger."

"I agree. And Frank …"

Interrupting Horatio when he saw something he wasn't happy about Frank snapped, "Dammit. I might have a problem."

"Tell me."

"There's a jeep parked not too far from where I normally do and it looks a whole lot like the one Paul Letourneau was driving. Vee says they keep a fleet of them and each of the brothers has their own for personal use with a vanity plate, the whole nine yards. This one says PORTER5 on it and it's a Mississippi plate. There's also lights in the corner condo next to mine which is owned by a pair of retired sisters that I know for a fact just went back up north for the season. I keep an eye on the place for them."

"Frank do not confront them."

"Horatio …"

"I'm on my way. I repeat, do not confront them."

Reluctantly Frank said, "I'll wait for back up but I'm telling you I'm getting more than a little pissed off here."

"Understood Frank. Definitely understood."

# # # # # # # # #

Someone knocked on Ryan's door. He threw the last of the mess that was supposed to have been his dinner in the trash and hurried to answer it, just missing the entry way table. He looked through the peep hole and blurry or not, that was definitely Walter Simmons standing there.

"Walter? What's up man?" Ryan asked after opening the door.

"Whew! What is that smell?" the other man said, making a face.

"You try cooking blind."

Walter grinned then chuckled. "Then obviously I am just in time." He held up a bag and Ryan blinked in surprise.

"O'Dools?"

"Fixed by the hands of your favorite waitress who misses you and wants to know when the neatest guy she knows is coming back around?"

Ryan blushed. The waitress in question was a really cute blonde. He'd helped her with a chemistry question she'd been trying to study as she watched her tables and every time he has come in since then he found out a little more about her. Her name is Michelle and she is a college student that is paying her own way so it was taking her longer than the normal four years to get her health sciences degree. She used to be a daycare worker but tips were better waitressing and the hours made it easier to take daytime classes. She was also a neat-freak. He just never could seem to get up the nerve to ask her out.

"Knock it off."

Walter laughed cause he knew he'd made his point and then held up a radio. "Miami has a basketball game on. Wanna listen?"

"Wouldn't you rather watch it? I thought you had tickets for all the games."

"Where's the fun in going without a friend?"

Slowly Ryan smiled and led the way to his back patio. The weather was fantastic; cool without being cold. And even if he couldn't see much at least Walter would get to watch the sorority girls that lived on the other side of the green space. They always had friends over and were playing games and what not.

Walter glanced around and then looked more closely. "Man, you have been holding out."

Ryan chuckled and said, "Man has to have some vices."

"Yeah? So clue me in … how well do you know these vices and can you introduce me?"

# # # # # # # # # #

Natalia was groggy but amazingly content to remain that way for a while. Every time the pain medication started wearing off she started feeling like she had too often while she was married … beat up and run over.

Essentially the doctor told her she had the best outcome possible for her surgery. They did have to take the one ovary. Removing the cyst hadn't been as difficult as expected as the cyst wasn't actually attached to the ovary but to the fallopian tube. The tube they had to remove but since she no longer intended to become pregnant that wasn't a problem. With the cyst removed the doctor hoped the ovary would recover enough that she would only have to continue the low dose birth control pill and not anything more invasive. The fibroids were removed with a D-n-C. There had been some bleeding but only minor cauterizing was needed. Natalia would be seeing the doctor every other month for a year and then after that, assuming no further cysts or tumors, she could relax.

Both of her sisters, Anya and Christine, had been by her side and Anya was the one that had volunteered to stay with her the first night. It would be at least another day before her doctor said it would be safe for her to head home and even then she would need someone to keep an eye on her for a few days more.

Christine had asked her about Ryan because he'd called multiple times during the day. "No, definitely not," she'd answered her sisters quieries. "He's a friend and only a friend."

"Are you sure?" they asked her kiddingly.

"Yeah. Kinda like the brother we never had."

"Yeah. Right."

Natalia just smiled tiredly remembering how Ryan had clucked guiltily at not being able to be there.

"Shut up already Ryan," she'd told him. "How do you think I feel not being able to help you? You get well. I get well. We go back to the lab and neither one of us has to worry."

He'd calmed down after that but promised to check on her frequently even if it irritated her. She smiled and drifted back off to sleep. It was good to have friends.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Horatio found Frank exactly where he said he was parked. He was also relieved that Frank hadn't taken matters into his own hands.

"What do you take me for? Some rookie knucklehead?" Frank had asked, more than a little offended.

"Sorry," Horatio told him. "However, you are acting slightly out of character where Vee is concerned."

Frank only muttered but then said, "Fine. And Spicoli is a burr on my ass. But this goes beyond acceptable that a man can't even go to his own home without being dogged."

"Let's see if this is indeed Mr. Spicoli's work."

Checking Frank's condo they found nothing; from there they went to the neighboring unit. It didn't take them long to ascertain that the front door was unlocked and upon entering it they found John Thomas Porter tied to a chair and nearly beaten to death.

# # # # # # # # # #

"What do you mean you have JT and he is on the way to the hospital? What are you playing at Caine?"

"I … am playing at nothing Mr. Spicoli. And I suggest you adjust your tone of voice. If I find out that you people have tried to frame any of my people …"

"I'm telling you," Horatio could hear the man getting up and moving around. "That JT is in the next room with his lawyer and his parents."

"Then who is in the ambulance that I am following? Because if it isn't John Thomas Porter the man is a dead ringer for him and carrying ID to that effect."

There was a momentary stunned silence then a whole lot of cursing. "Dammit to hell, we are all being played!"

"Explain 'played'," Horatio demanded bitingly as he and Frank followed the ambulance. For "convenience," Frank was temporarily in his custody until things got straightened out.

There was an almost indecipherable string of twanglish cursing that came from the banks of the Mississippi River pouring from the other end of the phone and then Spicoli said, "Tell that Tripp guy he needs to protect Vee. She knows. Tell her about the two JTs and she'll figure it out. I've got crap to take care of on my end. Just for god's sake don't let them get to Violetta. I ain't letting this shit happen again."

Frank who had been listening to the conversation began to grow concerned.

"Horatio …"

"As quickly as we can Frank, as quickly as we can."

# # # # # # # # # #

Ryan's phone was ringing but he didn't hear it until it was too late to answer. But when he glanced at the phone what he saw couldn't actually be.

"Walter?" he called to the other man who was busy wondering about the tensile strength of lycra bathing suit straps.

"Yeah man?" he responded absently.

"Is Vee's phone still in evidence?"

"Yeah. Logged it out and in twice today myself." The question caught his attention, plus the hottie he been watching had just put on a cover up. "Why?"

"Because according to my phone she … or at least her phone number … just called me." He sat his cellphone down and picked up his house phone.

Lucky for his nerves the person he was calling answered on the first ring. "Frank?"

"Uh … Ryan I can't talk right now."

"I'll make this quick and then I'm going to have Walter drive me over to the hospital. Vee's phone just called me but it couldn't have because it is currently sitting in evidence … and yet that's what just happened."

"Did you answer it?"

"No, but there's a message."

"Put it on speaker so I can hear it but don't necessarily believe whatever you hear."

"Frank, what's going on?"

"Not now Ryan … just play the message."

It was Vee … or her voice. "Ra-Ra, I love you but I can't take it anymore. The dreams, I'm missing chunks of time and who knows what I'm doing while I'm out of it. I … I just can't take it anymore. I'm scared I'm going to hurt someone. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Bye-bye."

"Frank?!"

"Ryan that isn't Vee … or isn't Vee right now. She's sick … and can barely get a sentence out without coughing."

"What the hell?!"

Horatio interjected, "Mr. Wolfe, remain calm. I repeat remain calm. Have Walter drive you to the hospital but increase your situational awareness. Exit carefully, drive carefully, enter the hospital with all due haste and care. Let me know when you arrive. We'll be there shortly."

# # # # # # # # # #

No sooner had Mark Spicoli left the hotel suite than John Thomas started spilling his guts to his lawyer and his parents. Things had gotten completely out of control. It was only supposed to be a game. The more points the bigger the reward. But it had stopped being fun. Things had gotten crazier and crazier as the weeks and then months went by. There was no way he was going down for this. Or at least not by himself.

# # # # # # # # # #

Calleigh sat looking at everything that had come in the day of the abduction. "I've confirmed it Horatio. The phone is right here. No outgoing calls have been made in the last twenty-four hours."

"Very good. Make sure all of the evidence is secured and locked up."

"What else can I do?"

"You and Eric have a family to take care of."

"But …"

"If we need you we'll call. At the moment you best serve the team by remaining in reserve and … capable of plausible deniability."

After a brief pause she said, "Understood."


	29. Chapter 29

_**Author's Note:** Getting close to the wire here. Thanks immensely for the reviews, they're like Vitamin C for the writing spirit. LOL. Hope everyone is enjoying reading, just wanted to say a note of thanks for the nice things said._

* * *

 **Chapter 29**

As luck or fate would have it, everyone converged on the hospital and arrived at the same time. The ambulance quickly disgorged its burden and JT/not JT was rushed in and immediately ER staff went to work on him. The man, whoever he was, was in very serious condition.

Horatio, without hesitation, used law enforcement privilege and parked close and then he and Frank ran in within moments of the ambulance. Walter let Ryan off at the Emergency Room entrance and proceeded to take his vehicle to the parking garage.

Horatio stayed with their victim while Frank and Ryan ran up to Vee's room only to find it … empty.

"Where is Vee Wolfe?" Frank demanded of the hospital staff on duty with Ryan by his side, albeit shakily.

Upon identifying them the duty nurse said, "We've been trying to reach one of you. They took her to emergency surgery five minutes ago. Let me try and get a doctor for you, to explain." As she walked away Ryan noted that Frank was several shades paler than he normally was.

The on-call doctor arrived after only a moment since he was already on the floor checking charts.

"Gentlemen. Let's step into the room here."

Ryan holds Vee's medical advance directive and durable power of attorney and he wanted to immediately know, "Why was she taken to surgery without my authorization?"

"It was an emergency Mr. Wolfe. As you know Ms. Wolfe's initial hematocrit and hemoglobin values were normal but within a couple of hours after her initial intake started deteriorating. This was undoubtedly because intravascular equilibration hadn't yet occurred. We were giving her time to recover in case the anemia was solely due to acute blood loss; however, her symptoms worsened to hypovolemia, hypotension, poor perfusion, pallor, and a weak pulse. She also developed a fever followed quickly by a cough. We are trying to determine the point of the infection. It was the tachycardia that became the most worrying symptom."

"Tachycardia?" Ryan nearly yelped.

Frank looked at Ryan and said, "Can you put that in English?"

The doctor apologized. "Sorry, I thought you were both CSIs."

Ryan said, "Different specialties. I work in the lab and Frank does more field-directed investigation."

The doctor nodded to Frank respectfully. Frank was momentarily nonplussed at Ryan's answer and the result. He was used to science geek types thinking he was stupid. Ryan made it sound quite different.

"Let me put it this way, Ms. Wolfe's … Vee if I may … Vee's at rest heart rate should be about 70 bpm … or 70 beats per minute. It was a little high upon admittance but given the initial blood loss and her anxiety level due to the PTSD episode that was to be expected. Then with the fever a slightly elevated heart rate above that wasn't to be unexpected either, even with the mild sedation she was receiving at the time. But her doctor became concerned when her overall numbers and blood volume level indicators began to fall and then her oxygen levels began to fall as well leading to a diagnosis of acute anemia. The best and least invasive treatment option was to stabilize her, arrange a transfusion, and to give her body time to respond. Unfortunately, she did not stabilize, but developed marked cyanosis around her mouth and nose, and her heart rate is now well above 100 beats per minute despite sedation."

When Ryan bit off a curse Frank understood that that was not a good thing.

"We cultured the infection, luckily it does not appear that she has any infection related to the alligator attack that put the other person that came in with her into the ICU." Both of Vee's protectors could un-list one of their worries. "However, that only leaves one possible culprit for Vee's symptoms and that is an undetected bleed."

# # # # # # # # # #

When Horatio came out of the exam room after getting Alexx Wood's staff help in obtaining fingerprints of the JT/not JT individual he saw Walter Simmons standing nose-to-nose with Mark Spicoli.

"Is there are problem?"

Walter, hearing his boss' voice answer, "This … gentleman … was attempting to interfere with our ability to do our investigation."

"Really? In what way?"

"I overheard him making a phone call saying that he'd personally get 'Jason' moved to a private hospital where they had more control of the situation."

In typical understated fashion Horatio responded, "Jason? So that's the man's name. Can you give me a last name Mr. Spicoli?"

Obvious uncomfortable Spicoli answered, "I'm not at liberty to say at the moment. However, if you had done as I suggested and spoken with Violetta …"

Spicoli felt a nerve-pinching grip on the back of his neck. "Spicoli, if you ever even utter her name again …"

Walter took a startled step backwards and then two steps forward. "Frank, uh …" He really didn't want to get between Frank and what looked like a meal he was after but this was an investigation.

Horatio had better luck. "Detective Tripp," he snapped sharply.

Pushing Spicoli away from him roughly Frank said, "They've had to take her back to surgery. They think she's bleeding internally. Ryan's up there signing all the forms but … he needs someone to sit with him. He can't see shit yet."

Spicoli grabbed Frank by the shirt, got in his face and growled, "What do you mean she's in surgery?! You said she was okay!"

"No asshat. I said her condition was none of your damn business."

"Gentlemen," Horatio growled at both men. "We do not need this. I believe we are on the same side … relatively speaking … and we all have Vee's best interest at heart. However, there is a concurrent investigation. Do not endanger my ability to do my job."

Frank knew, even if Spicoli didn't, that Horatio Caine was not a man to fool with; however, the only reason he didn't take Spicoli's head off is because he wanted the weasel to answer some questions. But first he was going to push him since he seemed emotionally vulnerable to it. Dammit. The son of a bitch didn't have any business having feelings for his Vee.

"This is your fault," he told the man. "If your man had stepped in Vee wouldn't have gotten shot. Rob wouldn't have become gator bait either. Matter of fact, you could have saved Vee a lot of pain all the way back to standing up for her in Tampa. Because you were there too weren't you. Standing on the sidelines but never doing jack shit to help. Just like this time."


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"You don't know what the hell you are talking about," Spicoli spit back at Frank.

"Don't I? Vee keeps saying none of you ever asked her directly whether it was true. You just believed what you were told to believe. None of you came to her. She's said it several times but we weren't really listening were we. I finally read those papers that Ryan had from the attorney. There were depositions in there … depositions that were taken in Tampa. Vee gave depositions on the same day, same location. She saw you there didn't she? You and some of her former teammates. Saw you betraying her."

Going a little pale Mark said, "She couldn't have. She would have said something."

"Really? You think so? Do you even know Vee Wolfe at all? What could she have possibly said? Especially since the Porter lawyers made sure to stick it to her with almost every question. How none of you ever wanted her on the team. How she repeatedly created 'issues' because of her gender. How you all were forced to make allowances for her, even when you didn't want to. And if it wasn't her gender it was because of her morals, her 'unfeminine' behaviors, how she threw the Porter name around. How she was the weak link. That word 'weak' … it's tore the hell out of her. Wasn't it bad enough that Jackass destroyed her self-confidence, did you need to pile on right along with him?"

"Bull shit. That's not true!"

"But that's what the lawyers said you said. You broke her heart you callous bastard. A heart she was just trying to put back together after it had already taken two hits. You let them drag her through hell … and while she was already suffering. I thought it was odd how Ryan said she didn't develop the symptoms of PTSD right away. It was only after Rob got that girl pregnant, after Ronnie's death, after her family's betrayal … she had been trying to put the pieces back together then something caused a tipping point. But I get it now. It was her second family's betrayal that finally put her over the edge … her team, the one she'd thought had her back from the time she was barely more than a kid. How many times did you bastards have to push her? Huh? How many times did it take until cracks started to show? I heard that recording that was sent to Ryan's phone."

Then he took Ryan's phone out of his pocket and played it for Spicoli to hear.

Growling right in Spicoli's face he asked, "You hear that you son of a bitch? You hear what you bastards pushed her to?"

"No," he whispered looking at the phone. "No. It wasn't me. I would have never let it get this far. I got out of the game when …" He stopped when he realized what he'd said, what he'd given away.

Horatio smiled his snake charmer's smile and said, "Now … now we're getting some place."

# # # # # # # # # #

Ryan's hands were shaking by the time he finished signing the paperwork for Vee. No. No this couldn't be happening. He'd been here this time. He'd been taking care of her … Frank had been taking care of her. They both had. How could this have happened?! He'd called Lexy and she said she'd call the others but she admitted it was unlikely that they'd come to the hospital, not until they knew something definitive.

"Vee couldn't handle Mom or Donna right now anyway. Hell, I'm not sure I could handle them. And please keep Uncle Ron tied up someplace if he starts making noise. You know how crazy he can get when things start getting out of control."

"Said the pot to the kettle," Lexy told him. "Look, I can come in early and …"

"No. You just finished a double and have … some issues of your own you need to keep a clear head for. Vee guessed as quick as I did by the way. She … she didn't question your ability to do it, but neither one of us wants to see you get hurt again."

"Relax Baby Brother, I know what I'm doing … and I don't want to get hurt again either. Roger has cleaned up his act. I … I never didn't love him, I just couldn't deal with his not being able to deal with me not being able to have kids. But now that he has one of his own and he sees how much work and everything they are first hand, he's not so into having a houseful of his own little biological curtain climbers."

Realizing an important piece of his sister's puzzle he said, "You were never against adoption were you?"

"No. Roger wasn't exactly against it either; he just wanted his own, or was convinced he did. Now I'll see … what I'll see. Enough said?"

"Yeah. But he better not be the jackass he was before."

"Like I said … I'll see. The last thing I'm in the mood for is moving fast. Unlike a certain cousin we both have in common." Ryan couldn't even answer her teasing. "Ry … she'll be okay. I've worked with her doctor before and her surgeon has a sterling reputation. And Vee is strong."

"She used to be strong. She's been through so damn much though."

"Ry, listen to me. What she has been through has only made her stronger. And you've helped her relocate that determination she had as a kid so get her to use it. My god, she used to drive mom out of her mind with how strong-willed she was."

Ryan tried to hide the smile in his voice when he said, "I remember."

"And don't tell me you didn't encourage her. We all thought you were insane to help her get her emancipation, but it worked out. And it will work out this time too. She's capable of getting what she needs … and maybe at least some of what she wants too. Call me when you know something. 'K?"

"Yeah. Will do."

He turned just in time to see a very angry woman push Vee's hospital room door open. He knew the woman. Not personally but from pictures and Vee's description. That woman would have been her mother in law if fate hadn't intervened.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Ryan quietly followed the woman into Vee's room and caught her looking around in surprise. She turned back, and not recognizing Ryan tried to brush passed him with an "Excuse me. I must have entered the wrong room."

Ryan surprised the woman by saying, "No Mrs. Porter, you're in the correct room. Vee's just not here. She's in surgery."

Losing a little of her bluster she said, "Surgery?"

"Yeah. Due to your son trying to kill her."

"Nonsense, Rob would never …"

"There were several witnesses to that fact. He shot her at near point blank range. Screaming at her for something she didn't have anything to do with. And his reasons? He thought she was finally taking revenge for all the things he'd done to her."

The woman tried to push her way passed him again but Ryan again blocked her way.

In acid dripping words she said, "Out of my way or I'll scream and accuse you of physically accosting me."

"And the moment you do I'll introduce this," Ryan said lifting the voice recorder up out of his pocket and playing the last few seconds. "I've learned a few things in this life Mrs. Porter and one of them is that it isn't just men who are capable of lying and cheating their way out of situations."

The woman paled but knew she'd been checked. All she needed however was one opening and she could still escape this godawful situation.

"Who are you?"

"Ryan Wolfe, CSI Miami PD."

Getting a look on her face like she'd suddenly smelled an open septic tank she said, "You're that … creature's … brother."

"Cousin. And yes I am."

"My son is lying on his death bed because of that bitch."

"Your son is lying on his deathbed, if that is what it is, because a gator bit him and the bite is now infected. And he should be grateful he at least has a fighting chance. It wouldn't have taken long, given the company his wife was keeping, that he might have wound up dead and in a burned out car," Ryan told her reminding her of her daughter in law's death.

"You don't know what you're talking about. My son John Thomas …"

"Your son is a liar and a sadist. A fact easily proven by talking to the many women that he's had affairs with. He tazed Vee multiple times while in the act of kidnapping her so that your other son could torture her for information she didn't have."

"How dare you impugn my sons' honor."

"Get off it already. Your sons impugned their own honor … and the honor of the entire family. JT and Jack have been at it for years. Rob is just a weak coward and was finally caught out being as bad in his own way as his brothers. He should have released Vee from their promise to each other, instead he preferred to lead her on while being unfaithful to her. Over and over and over again."

"He wanted to get rid of her," she said in disgust. "He did everything to help her turn from a … a piece of white trash into a lady but she didn't appreciate his efforts at all. And it didn't help that my father in law doted on the creature. Honestly. Just like he doted on those bastard sons of his. He would have put them over my husband – his rightful heir – if it wasn't for the fact that he loved Momma Porter so much."

# # # # # # # # # #

It was a face-off and Frank's civilized veneer was being stretched about as thin as was possible. Then Mark Spicoli's phone rang and he answered it. Only a few words were spoken on the other end but apparently that was also all that was needed. Spicoli answered with two words, "Game over."

Frank was immediately suspicious but then was shocked to see the man look at him and say, "I concede the field Tripp but don't ever hurt her." Before Frank could form a response, Mark turned to Horatio and said, "We have a problem. The man who was identified as Jack Porter was not Jack. His name is …"

Ryan's voice came from behind the four of them and said, "Jobey Porter … or Joseph Barrington Porter. He and Jason Porter … and I'm going to guess if that isn't JT in there that it is Jason … are the illegitimate sons of Mr. Porter Sr."

In outrage Mark Spicoli sputtered, "And how in the hell did you get your hands on that information?!"

"I took a year off college when I first became Vee's guardian. While all the legalities were still working through the court I moved to Biloxi to live with Vee so she wouldn't lose her home. I knew Jason and Jobey before I met any of the other Porters."

"Son of a …"

"Watch it Spicoli. Their mom was a nice lady; she used to keep an eye on Vee for me until I could get home from working construction. Ms. Barrington just got trapped in a relationship with a married man, and couldn't make up her mind whether she wanted out or not. Jason helped me to mothball Ronnie's car … and then helped Vee get it out of storage and make it road worthy when she was sixteen. I was pissed because I thought sixteen was too young to be driving around a mustang coupe … it was too much temptation."

Frank suddenly understood why the 'Stang seemed to be out of character for Vee yet she was so attached to it. It had been her brother's.

Curiously Mark asked, "If you know so much why haven't you put it together before now?"

Crossing his arms and taking a stance that left no one in doubt that he was furious he answered, "One, all I know about Jobey and Jason is that they went off to college and that their mom died when Vee was fifteen. Where they've been for the last eight years I don't know. Two, yeah, thinking about it, Jobey and Jason both look a lot like Jack and JT but not enough to be their doubles. Three, I still don't know what is going on beyond the fact that my cousin's life has been threatened and that you have thoroughly pissed me off. So why don't you hurry up and get to filling in all I don't know."

Frank wanted to pat Ryan on the back for standing strong but he knew that would go over like a lead balloon. Instead he added the weight of his own stare to everyone else's trying, by force of will alone, to make Spicoli talk.

"It is a long story," the man finally said, shoulders bowed and looking a little gray around the edges. "Have they said anything about Vee?"

Frank could have kicked himself for not being the first to ask. Ryan answered, "She's in recovery. They found the bleeder, plugged it, and are keeping her sedated until they are sure that it will stay plugged."

Frank took a half dozen steps away and then stopped, fighting with himself before turning back around returning to the investigation. Looking at Ryan he asked, "They'll call you?"

"They've been instructed to call both of us. That way if we aren't together you'll get any info as soon as I do."

The other men could see Frank's face working with strong emotion but all he did was give Ryan a silent nod, one understood by the other man to be of gratitude.

Horatio looked around and then said to the other four, "I suggest we find someplace less conspicuous to continue our conversation."

# # # # # # # # # #

Eric had silently agreed to keep the kids distracted while Calleigh took the phone call from Walter.

"Cal, only have a second but Horatio wants you updated." He proceeded to tell her in brief what had happened over the last hour. "Okay, I need to get back to the others so I'll …"

"Walter, there's something you need to know if you don't already. Relay to Horatio and the others that on the news tonight was a piece about a Claudette Porter, wife of wealthy business owner Johnson Porter, succumbing to the injuries caused when the plane they were in crashed under suspicious circumstances."

Walter quickly rang off after that and hurried to give that news to the other men. Mark Spicoli on hearing it paled even further and shakily sat in the chair in the medical conference room that Horatio had "borrowed" for their discussion.

"What we have now is a completely FUBAR situation."

"And why is that?" Horatio wanted to know.

"Mizzus Claudette was the only thing … and I mean the only thing … keeping the Old Man from going nuclear."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"Define nuclear," Horatio asked.

"Filicide."

Frank was wondering if he had ever heard the term when Horatio asked, "Filicide as in the senior Mr. Porter killing his son or …?"

"Forget Johnson Porter Jr. He is nothing like his father. He's good with the accounting and investing that he took care of for his parents but not nearly strong enough to run Porter International; and if I've read him right over the years, has absolutely no desire to either. His wife is a different story but she gave up on making her husband more ambitious, and focused that on her three sons. Rob as the youngest was kind of forgotten about for a while. He was a decent kid … smart, likable, good work ethic; he just didn't show up on the family radar very much until he insisted, against his parents' wishes, to date Violetta. Had she been around more I suspect she would have kept him in line but the Old Man took a liking to her for some reason and started training her to see what she was capable of. The Old Man was like that … he came from nothing and liked the idea of seeing where others with nothing could go with just a hand up here and there."

"Don't make that peckerwood's choices Vee's fault," Frank growled.

"I'm not. If anything I'm saying Rob is weak. Violetta should have been able to trust him to behave. If I'd known what was developing I would have done what I could to steer her away from him. Then again," he said looking at Ryan. "You gave it your best shot and she didn't listen to you either."

"Rob was and is unappreciative of Vee. It got worse as they got older. But you can damn well bet had I know he was being unfaithful to her that I would have put an end to it … one way or another."

Spicoli nodded. "Mayhap but Violetta is her own woman and makes her own choices … and damn the rest of us for wanting to be that choice." He shook his head then continued. "John Thomas isn't weak in the same way that Rob is but the Old Man detested his vices. He saw too much of his own weaknesses in him without enough of his strengths to offset them. Then there is Jack."

"Ah yes … Jack. Where is brother Jack Mr. Spicoli?" Horatio asked.

Rather than answer Horatio directly Spicoli said, "Jack is the most capable of the three but … something happened to him."

Putting two and two together Frank said, "Did that something happen about three years ago?"

"Yeah. After the IED. As for where he is at, beats the shit out of me and for that we need to be worried. See Jack is the grandkid most like the Old Man. Jack had all the ruthlessness of the Old Man. He's also capable and smart. But even the Old Man could see he needed something to soften the edges a bit. When Jack got married he thought a wife and children would provide that … but three months after the marriage Jack gets blown up by an IED … and even with the reconstruction that got the plumbing working there ain't going to be any children if you understand what I'm saying."

"And that's what altered Jack Porter's behavior."

"Hell, it changed his entire personality, but none of us realized how much … at least not at first. He's still Jack but he's harder and full of jagged edges that bleed … and that enjoy making other people bleed when they're stupid enough to get too close. Maybe there is still hope for him but it is going to take pretty intense psychotherapy if what is coming out proves to be true. That part of it isn't my job. I won't be there to see it play out. I'm done with Porter International … and a lot of other things too."

Frank asks, "Where do the other two fit in? Jason and Jobey?" He sees Ryan rubbing his forehead and shading his eyes so he leans back in his chair and hits the light switch to dim the lights directly over Ryan's head. Ryan looks relieved, embarrassed, and grateful all at the same time but nods at Frank rather than create a distracting scene.

Spicoli, pretending that he isn't noting the interplay between the two men that are preventing him from getting to Violetta answers, "They didn't fit any place at first. See the Old Man really loves … loved Mizzus Claudette. But what you gotta remember is they're from a different generation and Mizzus Claudette is old southern money and old southern ways. The Old Man is the boy from the wrong side of the tracks that made good and then paid her Daddy to let him marry her to get cleaned up and be able to move in higher circles. Yeah, I know how that sounds but that's the way it happened. But see after she'd given him a boy child and a girl child, from what I hear, Mizzus Claudette was a lot less interested in certain aspects of her marriage. And in some circles mistresses were an accepted outlet for energies your wife wasn't interested in exercising … so long as they were kept quiet. And that's how the Old Man handled it for years … until Ms. Barrington and then I think he let his emotions get involved. The boys were just accidents that were relatively easy to ignore … or pretend didn't exist maybe. But when the boys' mother died, that when he suddenly developed an interest in 'em."

"Day late and a dollar short."

Spicoli acknowledged Frank's statement and said, "You'd think so but the boys had never hated their father. In fact, they respected him even if they were told never expect him to be a real father figure. That's the way their mother had raised them; respect the man, but don't expect anything from him. If you did get something then you were properly grateful but you don't get above your station."

Ryan said, "That's sick."

Spicoli shrugged. "Different culture. Different values."

Horatio said, "Perhaps. But it comes with its own set of problems. Who decided they weren't satisfied with the status quo?"

Spicoli nodded at the question that cut right to the heart of the matter. "It wasn't Jason or Jobey … not until they were pushed, pulled, and dragged into it. In fact it was none of them. It was the Old Man who started it."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"Johnson Porter Sr.? You're certain of this?" Horatio asked.

"Hell yeah. Because I fell for the same bait as he hung out for the others."

Horatio asked, "And that was?"

Looking sadly away momentarily he admitted, "Your heart's desire."

Frank's fist hit the table and he snarled, "Son of a bitch."

Spicoli, looking even more tired and gray … beginning to look not just ten years older than Vee, not twenty … but he was beginning to look like he could have been Frank's older brother. "Violetta … look Tripp, it isn't as bad as you're thinking. The Old Man said that if I won the game that he wouldn't stand in the way of me wooing her away from Rob. See the Old Man really liked Violetta … not in any sexual or even familial way, but there's just something about that girl that can get under your skin, and she don't even realize she does it, doesn't even mean to do it. The Old Man, for all his faults, really does like to see people make good … and the lower you are to start with the higher he likes to see you attain. He thought Violetta would be the making of Rob. And he thought that her unconventionality would keep her from … being like Mizzus Claudette and we'll leave it at that."

"You sure as hell will," Frank grumbled.

Horatio, got everyone back on track. "Explain 'the game' Mr. Spicoli. And when did it start?"

"The issue of inheritance had pretty much been settled. But then Jack getting hurt shook the Old Man up … and finding out that Jack wouldn't have any kids of his own did as well. It's that old nepotism thing he had going on in the company. If Jack took over the company who would inherit from him? Mizzus Claudette started having some serious health problems about the same time. Jack's personality changes were another problem that was noticed. Rob's weaknesses … and John Thomas' as well. It started eating at the Old Man."

Walter asked a question that no one had been thinking about. "How do you fit in?"

A cynical smirk briefly crossed Spicoli's face. "Same way Paul did. We're descendants of Mizzus Claudette's own bastard brother." At the shocked look on their faces he chuckled darkly. "Like I said, different culture, different values. Isn't like that these days but the older generations are still touchy about it. My grandfather had never been acknowledged by his family and it was never an issue of inheritance because he died young after fathering a couple of kids himself. Paul descends from one of the kids that turned respectable. I'm from … well, you take a guess, not that it means anything."

Frank snorted, "Family reunions must be interesting as hell."

In sudden humor Spicoli said, "You have no idea." But then all the humor seemed to go out of him. "Jason and Jobey were … and are … decent men. Their problem is, despite their momma warning them, they crave their father acknowledging them. They never wanted the whole company … but they wouldn't have minded having a piece of it, or some sort of something that finally let them inside the inner circle, that said that they belonged. That was their prize in the game."

"We're back to the game."

"Yeah, only it wasn't called a game at first. It was just … just the way the Old Man ran things. He'd set these tasks and if you accomplished them then you got rewarded. You failed and … well shit could happen and he'd put someone over you. Jack almost getting killed and John Thomas doing things that could get him killed … that's when he started grooming Jason and Jobey. Jobey was first and he's the one that looks the most like Jack. But then he turns up and looks a hell of a lot more like Jack than nature would have created. It hadn't taken much plastic surgery; the hardest part was getting the correct mannerisms, speech, and other things like that. That's where Jobey fell in … he not only looked like Jack, he became Jack."

"Including the less than exemplary aspects is what I'm hearing you say," Horatio said.

"Exactly. Oh not right away and he cleans up if he is away from Jack's influence long enough. Jason followed in his brother's footsteps only becoming John Thomas' double. However, he didn't have the same … proclivities. And yes, I know it is damn weird but having body doubles isn't that strange in the security world."

Walter said, "Some celebrities employ doubles to confuse stalkers but the Porters aren't celebrities."

"No but they are well known in their own industry and it is an industry that makes its bread and butter on … cleverness and secrets and I don't need to explain what all else. Not that I can. Even when you leave Porter International you are still under a legal threat to keep your mouth shut. Violetta got hit with that side ways."

Ryan said, "Vee would never have violated the trust of the Porters. Even treating her like trash she still refused to use the information that she probably had at her disposal."

"Probably had?" Spicoli asked.

"Vee never talked about her job except in generalities. She knew that I'd understand because I have to be the same way about my case files. You have to be able to keep your mouth shut."

Horatio nodded approvingly in Ryan's direction but took notice that Frank's face was not as open as it could have been.

Spicoli asked Frank seeing the same thing, "Did Violetta ever speak to you about anything?"

"Specifics? No. But she made it clear to me that if anyone went after Ryan or my kids that she will raise hell in a painful way for the ones that started it."

"And you?"

Frank gave him look for look and said, "I have my own way of raising hell."

The message was clear and Spicoli nodded finally willing to give the older man a modicum of respect. He should have known. Vee wouldn't be with just anyone. And he finally acknowledged that even the pity play that he'd been thinking of using wouldn't work, not after what Frank had said she'd seen in Tampa.

Horatio sensed some undercurrents but he was more interested in finishing this case before trying to untangle the emotions of the other men at the table.

"So we have a game revolving around inheritance. When did things go bad?"

Tired and showing it Spicoli answered, "Like I said, three years ago the Old Man started changing the rules. Not obviously at first and then Jack picked up on it. He wasn't exactly as set on who would inherit as everyone had thought. He started playing one of us against the other, it was subtle but it was there. I was low man on the totem pole and the five others didn't really consider me a risk so much as a weapon that could occasionally be used against the others; but, I had to be careful if I wanted to keep my job. I couldn't do anything to offend the Old Man or upset the family apple cart. At the same time I had to make it so that I could still work for whoever the winner eventually was. I stayed in the field as much as possible. It suited the Old Man's plan. Mizzus Claudette never cared for having her father's infidelity shoved in her face anyway."

"So if you weren't available to be low man on the totem pole who was?"

"Rob," he said, confirming Frank's suspicion. "They got him into the fast lifestyle that eventually tripped him up. Hell, they're the ones that introduced him to Josette and told him to have some fun."

Ryan said, "They're the ones that were always teasing him about Vee."

Spicoli shrugged. "I can't say for sure. It's possible, even likely, but it isn't anything I witnessed firsthand. When the Old Man was around no one bad mouthed Violetta and I was only around the others in the presence of the Old Man. But if you are beginning to wonder if the situation between Rob and Violetta was another turning point then you'd be correct."

"Why?"

"Because that's when someone kept trying to put a bug in the Old Man's ear that she'd betrayed the family. The fact that she'd knocked Rob out … embarrassed everyone by shining a light on how dishonorable they were acting … yeah, the Old Man picked a side and it turned out to be the family against Violetta. That part was Jack and JT. They manipulated everyone but see they expected Violetta to hang around and fight keep things jumping so they could do some back door dealing. It didn't happen because Violetta isn't a Porter and she wasn't as invested in being a Porter as they were. It also didn't happen because her brother died. The team and I, we didn't even know what the legal proceedings were all about until after we gave our depositions. We had no idea that Ronnie had died. Or that Rob had attached himself to the family that was going after her. See that's where things started splintering."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

"Dumbass, you people nearly splintered Vee," Frank said because Ryan was too angry to do anything but mutter furiously.

"I get that now. And some of the guys must have gotten it at the time … our team fell apart and about half of them went to find work with other companies. Those that remained asked to be reassigned. I thought it was the Old Man doing it but I've … I've been making phone calls the last couple of days and found out that they'd seen stuff I couldn't or wouldn't. Paul tried to tell me but I didn't want to listen." Spicoli shifted in his chair almost painfully.

Horatio interjected, "You said that the incident between Vee and Rob was a turning point."

"It started then yeah. The Old Man was pretty broke up about it all but didn't want to show it. Mizzus Claudette's health was getting worse … but in another sense it seemed to free her. From what I heard from Paul, who got it from an aunt that was a maid in Celia and Gerhard's home, Mizzus Claudette gave the Old Man the okay to openly bring his other sons in, and didn't that shake things from the foundations to the rafters. She also told him to play Jack and John Thomas against each other to see where they'd go with it. If they stuck together he'd know that they put family first … if they started fighting with each other he'd know they couldn't be trusted."

Walter shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense."

"You people just ain't hearing what I'm saying. Different culture, different values. Kings of old used to make their bastard kids into knights and part of the upper classes. It kept them loyal and gave them something to start with versus having to wonder if the enemies would use them or reward them better for a betrayal. If the bastard children were daughters they married them into families that were looking for favors, crazy stuff like that. They also kept them in reserve in case for whatever reason their legitimate children all died or fell out of favor for some reason."

"Sounds familiar," Frank said. "What you're saying is that Porter Senior started thinking none of his legitimate kids or grandkids were worthy of inheriting the Empire of Porter when he kicked the bucket. What I don't understand is the man has a daughter. Was it just because she's female?"

"No. It's because she married Gerhard and then wouldn't divorce him when they found out they couldn't have kids."

"Jesus," Ryan muttered in disgust. Then he winced as he realized he had some of the same sort of stupidity in his own family, just not to the same extent.

"Gerhard fought to keep Celia and she refuses to forget it, their marriage is pretty tight … see it wasn't just problems on Gerhard's side that caused the infertility issues. He and Celia hadn't married until she was in her late thirties. But that's neither here nor there. Gerhard was basically groomed to be the #2 man regardless of who became #1. What no one knew, I didn't know … not even the Old Man realized it … was that Gerhard wanted Porter International … for Celia. He's already made it plain that when the Old Man kicks off that he will be installing Celia as head of the Corporation. He's also taking it private again instead of public as it has been the last ten years. The Board secretly backed his play and after the plane crash Gerhard made his move surprising everyone. Especially Jack who thought he'd just walk in and take over; the way the Old Man had told him it would go down."

Frank and Horatio caught it first but Ryan and Walter weren't far behind. It was Frank however that said what everyone was thinking. "Are you telling me Porter Senior knew the plane crash was coming?"

"Hell, given what I've found out from the pilot's widow, the Old Man is the one who arranged it. Mizzus Claudette … the Old Man … look, a couple of months ago she was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer and there wasn't anything that could be done about it, she was just too frail both physically and mentally. The Old Man couldn't stand the idea of living without her. And he'd started to have his own health problems. Cancer runs on both sides of the family. Even with treatment the Old Man won't live more than another year and I'm thinking a lot less than that once he solves this to his satisfaction. He'll sit down and give up and will himself dead just like all those times he willed himself to hang on and be successful."

Frank looked at him and said, "You people make dying a bigger pain in the ass than necessary, you know that?"

Spicoli looked at Frank and looked like he wanted to laugh but couldn't quite pull it off. "I'm beginning to see your attraction for Violetta. You don't have a lot of patience for stupidity."

"Zero. Zip. Nada. None. And them Porters seem to have more than their fair share of it."

Spicoli gave the other men a tired grin. "Yep, definitely seeing how you caught Violetta." Then the smile slid from his face. "You don't have to worry about trouble from the Porters for Violetta. The Old Man was sorry … never seen him this kind of sorry. That incident at the advertising party the boys threw finally moved him to do something about his sorry. He signed some papers that should have cleared up most of the problems she'd been caused by the family. He's wanted to do more but she told me to shove it … someplace painful … that she couldn't be bought. The Old Man respected that."

"Who sent Paul to blow Vee up?"

"Paul would have never done a thing like that. But he could be used to deliver something he didn't know he was carrying; and the user would be either Jack or John Thomas … but more than likely Jack. It was likely Jack that shot Paul as well. He didn't want Paul to turn on him … and Paul would have in a heartbeat, he hated Jack for trying to … er … bring in one of his sisters for his crowd to use. John Thomas is saying that it was Jack that set up a lot of what has gone on … or that he was repeating what Jack told him, not thinking he had any reason to not believe his own brother. It was also Jack that manipulated Jason and Jobey … and that part I just got from Jobey. Jack had Jobey deep under cover and not knowing what has been going on. Jason had already pulled out of the game and told the Old Man that his recognition wasn't worth his soul. Jason had come to Miami thinking that Jobey was here some place since everyone said that Jack was in Biloxi. And here is something that may have put Jason in the hospital … Jason and Jack's wife were having an affair and … she's pregnant with Jason's kid."

# # # # # # # # # #

Vee slowly regained consciousness hearing a man screaming across the room. "Mr. Porter, you must calm down! Nurse! The methotrimeprazine! Stat!" Finally the screaming and sobbing stopped and the man … or at least the hospital bed he was in … was unhooked from the wall and he was being wheeled out. Vee was sliding back into her previous state when a woman got in her ear and said, "I'm going to make your life a living hell. You did this to my son. You did this. They had to amputate his leg. My beautiful son, my baby, and you've destroyed him."

Someone pulled her away, "Mrs. Porter! You aren't supposed to be in here."

"I will be anywhere my son is. You can't …"

Still unable to fully understand what was happening Vee didn't know whether to pray she was in the middle of a messed up PTSD dream or not.

# # # # # # # # # #

Horatio came to a decision. "We have all of the family members accounted for except for Jack Porter. Frank, I want an APB out on the man and I want him marked armed and extremely dangerous."

Frank immediately made a phone call. While he was in the middle of that Ryan's phone that he'd gotten back from Frank rang. As soon as Frank looked up Ryan said, "That was Alexx. Something happened in the recovery ward and she thinks we need to get over there and be with Vee while she finishes coming around." To the rest of the table he said, "It had something with Rob Porter … and his mother. Rob had to have an emergency amputation … they took the entire leg, trying to keep the infection from reaching his primary organs."

Spicoli stood up and would have followed Frank and Ryan out of the room but Horatio held him back. "Mr. Spicoli, now would be the time to tell me the rest of the story."


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"What's to tell?" he asked offhandedly. "It looks like you've got it covered from here."

Horatio simply looked at him with his head tilted and eyebrow cocked, one hand holding the ever-present pair of dark aviator glasses.

It took a moment but Spicoli finally slid back into a chair looking grayer than he had even a few moments before. "The Old Man did something."

"And that would be."

"He … he made it seem like Violetta was a reserve player. That he was bringing her back into the game."

Horatio hid his reaction to that. "Is there reason to suppose that she would have played along?"

Spicoli snorted. "Maybe when she was a kid the Old Man could have fooled her into it but he taught her too well. Better than even he realized he was teaching her … on top of everything else, he taught her to be wary of him too. And then there's that cousin of hers. He's a lot smarter than you'd expect given his screw ups. The boy seems like a clown but he ain't; he has some cojones and taught her smart. She came into the company knowing how to shoot, the techniques for getting out of a dangerous situation, techniques for diffusing a situation, how to physically defend herself in hand to hand. And when I say she's more than competent I mean exactly that. I tried to train her but she'd take my suggestions and fool with them a little bit but then we'd come back from a tour, she'd disappear for a while – turns out she was with Ryan – and she'd come back even better than I hoped to make her. I've checked him out. During his temporary dismissal from Miami-Dade he was hired by a gun range for his marksmanship. He could have gone SWAT except he preferred the science end of investigating. Vee offered to get him into the personal protection business – and he had a few offers – but again, he was more interested in going back to being a CSI."

Having seen Ryan's personnel file many times all Horatio did was say, "I am aware of Mr. Wolfe's skill set. And?"

"And nothing. It doesn't really mean anything except to say that Violetta was never totally reliant on the Porters for anything, and it probably saved her a lotta pain. The Old Man could never really trap her or manipulate her into dependence. If and when she gave her loyalty to someone it is because she fully chose to do so on her own, not because she was manipulated into it or bribed into it. I think that's one of the reasons why Rob was able to hurt her the way he did. She expected him to be as loyal to her and she was to him."

"And is that also why you never made any headway with her?"

Mark snorted. "She was friends with my wife. Even after I got divorced she wouldn't take the bait. And then those bastards had me believing … never mind. Just by then … and other things going on …"

"Would those 'other things' happen to have anything to do with your own health?"

The man was silent for too long and then he said, "Don't tell her. Don't tell the cousin or the other one. I might have been tempted to make a pity play at one point … but I missed my opportunity and … and it's too late."

"And you are done with this … game?"

Spicoli nodded. "Passed done. What time I have left I'm gonna spend with my brother. What's left of him. Unlike Violetta the PTSD is killing him. They can't find any meds that help that don't turn him into a vegetable. His wife won't be able to handle him much longer no matter what she believes she can do. David and I made sure, before his slide started getting so steep, that she and their kids are well set. He also got them out from under the shadow of the Porters long before I wised up. The only thing I'm trying to do right now is make sure that I do the job I failed at too many times."

"And that would be?"

"To protect Violetta. She knows things that make her dangerous to the brothers … or that make them think she is dangerous. She knows people … some facts that they've tried to bury, even from the Old Man … she knows the ins and out of the business as a whole and the security arm in particular. If she wanted to she could pull in favors from half-way around the world. She isn't like that though, but the Old Man has already planted the seeds in their heads. He thought he'd be able to pull her back in, none us knew about the dreams and how bad she was hurt. Didn't find that out until Gerhard went digging for the truth. Talk about shock around the board room."

"Why would that be?"

"Vee was always a stabilizing influence in any group she was a part of. She never just leapt at anything before she looked it over. She's a thinker. She'll take action faster than you expect but … damn she was just good at what she did, was already making a name for herself. It's why they took such pains to destroy her reputation; a lot of other companies out there would have hired her in a nanosecond."

"Am I to understand that is at an end? That the vendetta is over?"

"Yeah. But Violetta has taken herself off the board. She knows she'll never be able to have a field job … between her injuries and the PTSD … in her words she is a medical liability and she won't endanger a team because of it. That's the kind of person she is. It doesn't always have to be about her, she sees the big picture."

Horatio nodded slowly and then pointed the man at the door which they then both exited.

# # # # # # # # # #

Vee was still feeling pretty groggy. There wasn't any pain but there was a feeling of being disconnected and struggling to tell reality from illusion … or delusion; she didn't know which. She felt like her thoughts were moving through cold molasses.

She finally managed to open her eyes and nearly jumped at finding two men standing over her. She blinked her eyes repeatedly trying to clear the fog and she finally recognized Ryan and Frank. "Whoa, back up a little guys, your blocking the sunshine and taking up all the oxygen on the boat."

Frank and Ryan looked at each other and realized that Vee was still pretty drugged up but they did back up a little, but only a little.

Neither man was saying anything and that made Vee come to the conclusion that something was wrong and she must have caused it. With more than a little slur in her voice she said, "Okay, spill it. What did I do wrong and how do I fix it?"

Frank said, "You didn't do anything wrong Sweetheart except nearly give both of us a heart attack."

"Uh …"

Ryan asked, "Do you remember getting taken back to surgery?"

"Yeah but that was when I … geez … where am I now? Wait … I … I didn't have another episode did I? I was starting to feel …"

"Whoa, don't even go down that road," Ryan said to intervene and stop Vee from getting upset. "They missed a small bleed. They had to go back in but all it required was some cauterizing. You need to stay still until they're sure that it is going to hold but you should start getting well faster from here on out."

Glancing at Frank to see that he was staring around the room like he was watching for something she asked, "Then why are the two of you doing the whole bodyguard thing. Frank has laser beam eyes and you're blocking my view so I can't see what is going on."

Frank glanced at her then at Ryan, each man wondering who got the short straw as far as explanation goes. Only they didn't move fast enough because something crashed a couple of curtains over and she heard voices she recognized. She paled and the monitor she was on made a noise it shouldn't have and immediately a nurse was there.

"Try and relax for me honey," she said while she fooled with leads and sticky circles attached to Vee at various places. "Perhaps you two gentlemen should …"

Vee gave a breathy, "No!" She also started reaching for them.

Frank grabbed her hand and said, "Look at me. Right here Sweetheart. Look at my eyes. Ryan and I are here, nothing is going to happen. Do what the nurse says and try and calm down. That's right … slow and steady breaths."

While Frank calmed Vee Ryan spoke with the nurse quietly. "I think she recognized their voices. I know they have to both be here … recovery and all that. But how soon do you think they can move her back to her room? The sooner she is away from him the less she'll set the machines off."

"The doctor just needs to come in one more time and he should be here any minute. Then we'll get her disconnected and moved to the patient elevator and back up to her room." They both winced when Rob's mother started getting hysterical at the way they were handling her son.

Ryan was trying very hard to not say the obvious and he saw that Frank was doing his best to block out what was happening by leaning over and practically becoming part of the equipment attached to Vee but it was obvious he was reacting to the scene as well. For Ryan, if he'd had any doubts left, just seeing Frank struggling like this assured him that his feelings for Vee were very real and deep. Frank was a controlled man, especially in public settings, but this was testing him even more than it seemed to be testing Ryan who seemed to be handling it somewhat better.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Amazingly (or unfortunately depending on your viewpoint), after the clearing up many of the facts of the case and coming to a climax with sundry other concurrent events, things went quiet. It may have been frustrating in one regard but in another it was a needed break. The APB was issued for Jack Porter but there had been no sightings of him. An officer was stationed outside Vee's hospital room but Ryan and Frank also took turns sitting with her when possible.

There was a private security officer for Rob Porter, not that it did a lot of good. He was in ICU and being kept sedated. ICU had its own security clearance system in place. No one would simply be able to walk in on Rob. Had Rob been fit to move his parents would have had him transferred to a private facility but he wasn't and they couldn't. More importantly they wouldn't be able to move him until after he'd answered a few questions which he was currently unable to do.

The evening after Vee's surgery Ryan finally made it to see Natalia who was scheduled to be get out the next morning. He wasn't going to say anything but she insisted on knowing. Ryan only reluctantly shared some of the case with her and shared how his cousin was doing.

"Frank is with her right now. She's stable, her numbers seem to be improving slightly. I'm more concerned about how she seems to drift off and then … she cries in her sleep. Nothing noisy, just tears start rolling down her cheeks. And if you think it is tearing me up you should see Frank."

"Frank?" ask Natalia more than a little surprised.

"Yeah. I think he is having a hard time with this whole situation. This whole thing with Vee is … well, if I have to guess based on some of the things he's said, it was neither something expected nor looked for. And then she catches him like a ball to the head out of left field. On the one hand he's happy, she's happy, and things look good for them to make something long term out of this. On the other hand Frank has always kept work and private life separate except for maybe a handful of times; when he asked you out that time was the biggest departure for normal for him. Can I ask, why you didn't take him up on it?"

A little uncomfortable Natalia said, "I didn't know what we would talk about. Football? Cases we were both investigating? I don't know. I just … well … I just didn't think we had anything in common beyond work or that he was … er … my type."

Ryan shrugged. "Oh. Well, a lot of people … look, between you and me, Frank is a lot smarter than he gets given credit for. Vee said he is actually pretty … uh …"

When Ryan stopped and stated chuckling Natalia asked, "What? Or is it TMI?"

"No. She just said he was more 'erudite' than you would think."

"Excuse me?"

"That's the word she used. Erudite. I think he actually intimidated her a bit. She felt she had less to bring to the table I suppose. I mean she's over it now but my guess is Frank is attracted to smart women but just wants to be accepted on his terms. Either way," he said shrugging again. "Either way they're working it out."

Any upset that Natalia might have felt was instantly washed away when Ryan, after making sure that both the nurses and Natalia's sisters wouldn't suddenly come back in, slipped a small box of chocolates out of his sports coat and snuck it into her hands.

"Oh god, you're not going to cry are you? Your sisters will kill me," he said after looking at Natalia's reaction.

That made Natalia's hormonally driven emotions do a one-eighty and she giggled. "No. Of course not. But you have no idea how badly I've wanted some chocolate. I don't care if I put on ten pounds. I'm dying for a piece."

"Well, don't do that," Ryan muttered, praying that he wasn't going to catch flack over it.

Soon after Natalia had indulged in one piece and then hidden the remainder of the small box under her pillow Ryan left to go back to Vee's room only to find Frank pacing the corridor.

"They basically said visiting hours are over and that they want Vee to sleep the rest of the night."

"Sounds about like what I was told a minute ago coming out of Natalia's room. We can …"

"Horatio just called me and said he wants us back in in the morning. He sympathizes but Vee's case isn't the only one and yada yada."

The look on Frank's face was an intersection of exhaustion, anger, resentment, and concern. Ryan had also gotten a text from Horatio but it was more to the effect that he expected Ryan to get Frank to eat something and then go home and get some rest.

"Look … uh …"

"Yeah, I figure Horatio is causing that 'uh'." Ryan blinked. "Yeah, what I figured." Frank sighed in resignation. "Feel like grabbing something to eat? I'll drop you off at your place then head back to mine. My kids keep calling, someone spilled the beans to the news, and I guess I better fill them in or their grandmother is going to put some crazy crap in their heads."

Ryan thought for a moment then said, "Can we eat at O'Dool's?"

"Sure. Why not?"

# # # # # # # # # #

Three days later …

"I can't believe they're letting you out of here," Ryan complained as Vee moved slowly around the hospital room as Frank and Ryan put all of the flowers she'd received on a rolling cart. "You just had not one, but two surgeries," he groused.

"Relax Ra-Ra. I've been worse."

At the same time both men said, "Don't even go there."

Vee shook her head. "Honestly. You act like I'm …" The grin slid from her face and she finished with, "… weak. Though I guess that's what I …"

Frank growled like an old, cantankerous bear. "Don't go there either," he added to the growl. "I think Ryan and I have both had all we can take at the moment."

Frank's phone went off and he answered it. "Yes, Francy, she's just about to leave the hospital now."

/response/

"No, you don't need to have your grandparents drive you over and your aunt would probably put Vee back in the hospital so simply tell them no thank you and that you can see her this weekend."

/response/

"Excuse me?"

/response/

"Francine Lauren Tripp. I do not need my fifteen-year-old daughter explaining to me there are some things that women need to have in the house. I believe at my age I do have some experience in that area."

Ryan walked quickly out of the hospital room, ostensibly to find a wheelchair but he looked like he was struggling not to lose it. Poor Frank. Beset from all sides by females.

Vee considered moving her residency to Siberia and asking Frank if he wanted to come with her to keep her warm. Francine had been calling since yesterday with honest concern but expressed in a way that made Vee want to crawl off in a hole and pull it in after her. Yesterday was when she decided she just couldn't do it anymore. Francine had called to remind her that "since you've been sick I doubt you've been thinking about birth control. Make sure Dad remembers. Guys can be such dorks about things like that."

Shocked and feeling way older than she had thought possible she'd yelped, "Francine … you haven't …?"

"Of course not. Like I said, guys are dorks. I'm saving it until I'm sure the guy I'm with isn't a dork. But you might not want to tell my dad, or at least not that way. He gets a little crazy about that stuff."

"Uh … yeah. I'm pretty sure I can imagine it."

Vee's head was turned inside out by some of the things that Francine said, she could just imagine what they would do to Frank.

Ryan came back into the room with a nurse and the promised wheelchair.

"You're really going to make me sit in that."

The nurse said with an understanding smile, "Hospital policy."

Vee was thinking thoughts about where the hospital to shove its policy but the hopeful looks on both her heroes faces made her give in with only mild disgust. "Fine, but don't blow you back out. I'll …"

"Let me push it," Frank interrupted. "If she starts complaining I'll just pick her up chair and all."

"Oh fine. Let's just get out of here," Vee said on an unwilling chuckle that caused her incisions to twinge.

# # # # # # # # # #

Mark Spicoli, looking even grayer than he had a few days earlier, said, "Mrs. Porter, you are only making things worse. Just try and be thankful that Rob has stabilized and they've finally got the infection under control. You are one of the reasons they have to keep sedating him. Every time he comes around you're in his face crying and hysterical which then sets him off. You need to let the hospital staff do their jobs, and that include the psychiatrist they sent up here."

In true dramatic form Rob's mother lamented, "Don't you dare tell me how to behave. That's my son, my baby, lying in that bed … mutilated and his life over with. If I don't stand by him, mourn the loss of his future with him, certainly no one else will. A father that won't even come to the hospital because he is too busy trying to 'plug holes' that he says our sons have created. A grandfather that is out of his mind, spewing stories, blaming my sons for his own misdeeds. Both of them are over at the hotel with their heads together when they should be here. Then his aunt and uncle that seem to be glad he is out of their way so they can take what rightfully belongs to others. And you. Oh yes, I've heard the stories about you Mark Spicoli … not the least of which is how that … that wicked creature betrayed my son … with you of all people."

Mark Spicoli sighed. "Mrs. Porter, your sons lie so much I'm not even sure they know what the truth is anymore. Violette Wolfe and I have never had anything other than a professional relationship. And I suggest you stop insisting on spreading false rumors. It is only going to make things harder on you when you have to face the truth."

"Jack said you'd say that …" She paled as she realized what she'd said.

Mark Spicoli paled as well. "Mrs. Porter, I'm only going to ask you this once. Have you been in touch with Jack?"

"I don't have to answer to you."

"Are you insane woman?!" Spicoli hisses quietly. "They can put you in jail for this sort of thing … it's called obstruction of justice and being an accessory. Do you know what this is gonna look like to the rest of the family? To the cops? Even the feds are sniffing around. That Jack would put you in this position should tell you something if nothing else does."

The woman blinks at him a moment as if the idea had never occurred to her, which it hadn't. Then she glances to the side and he sees her cell phone. She smirks right before snatching the phone out of his reach and holds it to her as if daring him to try and take it. For his part, Spicoli looks at her like he's seeing how stupid she is for the first time. He takes out his own phone and calls the home office. "Yeah, this is Spicoli. I'm going to access to the family cellphones. Yeah. Thanks."

He rings off, and then using his data connection, takes control of Mrs. Porter's phone.

"How … no! You can't do that! I'm calling my lawyer!"

"You can try but you need to remember this … the company owns and pays for this phone, it owns and pays for the line your phone uses, it even owns and pays for the lawyer you say you are going to call. As a matter of fact, the company basically owns and pays for you Mrs. Porter. Remember all those papers you sign every year at the Christmas family get together? You are basically agreeing to everything I just told you was true. And trust me, the Old Man made sure all of those stipulations were ironclad."

The woman pales and slowly sinks into a chair beside the unconscious Rob's bed.

After fiddling with things he muttered a curse and then placed another call.

"Caine, he's been using a phone that belongs to the business complex across the street from the hospital."

"Mr. Spicoli, Vee Wolfe is in the middle of leaving the hospital."

"Shit! I'm on my way down. But you need to send someone to keep an eye on Rob's mother. She's the one he has been in contact with."


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Ryan was messing with his phone, trying to let his sister Lexy know that they were leaving the hospital but he was starting to get frustrated. Frank said, "Give it up. You aren't going to get a signal in this elevator."

"Lexy is going to have my head," he nearly moaned.

Vee said, "You can blame me."

Outraged Ryan yelped, "I'm not going to …" Then he stopped and thought about it. "You sure?"

Vee tried not to but she grinned. "Yeah. It will give me a chance to …"

"No," Ryan said shaking his head vehemently. "Never mind. I'll deal with it. I owe her for keeping Mo …" The doors to the elevator opened and suddenly Ryan's voice went up an octave and a half. "… ooom. What are you doing here?"

"I don't know Ryan. It isn't like I was ever invited or anything. Oh no, I was just left to assume the worst and …"

Frank suddenly realized one of the big reasons why Ryan had never really talked about his family. He pushed Vee off the elevator, gave the nurse who was looking on with a pained expressed a wink, and then told Ryan, "Push the cart over there. You need to sign the last of the paperwork for Vee. I'll take care of your mother."

Ryan gave Frank a suspicious look but nodded and escaped saying, "That'll give me time to call Lexy like I promised as well."

Ryan took off at a near run and that's when Vee tried to say, "Aunt Mary I'd like you to meet …"

"Violetta Cassandra Wolfe. Are you telling me this … man … is …" She just kept swelling up in outrage and Vee's mouth went into overdrive just like it always did when her aunt got started.

"Aw now Aunt Mary, you know I could never go for one of them rinky dink little dudes that you was forever shoving on me. I had to go out and find me a good-sized man. Tall as a grenadier ain't he. Why I'm telling ya …"

Frank was glad he hadn't been eating or drinking or the woman would have been wearing it. As it was he had a hard time keeping a straight face. Instead he said, "Medication … isn't out of her system. Can I get you some coffee or something Mrs. Wolfe?"

Frank just kept pouring on the Texas charm and soon enough Ryan's mother was fluttering and sighing and was convinced that it was her suggestion that Ryan introduce her niece to the men he worked with, to get her away from those Crass young men she used to hang around with. But Detective Tripp must be sure and call her for any reason, any reason at all. Violetta could be … well … difficult at times because she'd been positively spoiled growing up.

Frank had gone to walk Aunt Mary out to her car right before Ryan came back. He found Vee having what he thought was a fit until he realized she was trying not to laugh.

"Uh … I … er … don't see Mom. What did Frank do with her?"

"Walked her out to her car," she wheezed, holding onto her incision site. She looked right at Ryan and said, "I'm keeping him if for no other reason than he had Aunt Mary thinking that it was her idea that you introduced me …" By the time she was finished explaining what had happened Ryan had to sit down or fall down.

"Your serious," he said.

"As serious as a fifth act of a tragedy," she said in a thick Mississippi drawl.

"Aw Vee, you didn't."

Vee started laughing again. "I'm sorry, she just brings it out of me every time."

About that time Frank walked up and said, "The excuse was her medication hadn't worn off. I don't think it'll work a second time."

Ryan shook his head, "I'm surprised as hell it worked this time." Both men, after giving Vee the eye, thought that there might actually have been some truth to it.

Finally, the three went out the sliding doors. Frank said, "I'll bring my car around and …"

They heard running and turned to see Mark Spicoli running and shouting, "Code 9! Code 9!" He flew straight at them startling Ryan and Frank. However, Vee knew the shouted warning meant an immediate threat. But before she could explain or even react, Spicoli tackled Vee and the wheelchair, at the same time a loud crack could be heard.

The air had been knocked out of Vee and she finally gasped, "Get off Spicoli! Mark did you hear me?!" Then she noticed all the blood. More softly she called, "Mark?"

She pushed him off of her and tried to get up but another groan caught her attention. Ryan was trying to roll over with blood coming from a cut on his forehead where he'd hid the curb when he went down. Looking around she saw Frank who wasn't moving at all. She was starting to see spots until someone griped her arm painfully. She looked and it was Spicoli.

He looked deep into her eyes and said, "Remember your training." He handed her his gun. "Now get out of here. Go. We'll hold him off … off …" He coughed once, sending spittles of blood all over Vee. He didn't cough a second time. And never would again. With a shaking hand Vee reached up and closed her former team leader's eyes.

"Down Vee, stay down," Ryan said trying to shield her body with his own but she pushed him away.

"Keep your ownself down. It's me the bastard is after. Help me … help me with Frank."

"Dammit, listen to Ryan will you woman?!" Frank groaned as he grabbed his arm. There was blood on his shirt but it didn't belong to the dead Spicoli.

Despite Frank's injury Vee started to breathe easier; she'd thought the worse for a few moments. Vee also started to become aware of the chaos all around her. She also heard another series of gunshots targeting people in the street and parking lot.

"Bastard, you just gave yourself away," Vee said in deadly calm. She looked at Ryan and showed him Mark Spicoli's pride and joy, a Sig P210 that had been modified for long range shooting.

"Can you make the shot?"

"Third floor of parking garage, two pillars to the over from the ramp."

Frank growled, "What the hell are you two talking about?"

Ryan crawled over to Frank and started taking off his tie to use to stop the bleeding on Frank's arm. Quietly he said, "Let her."

Frank read the look on Ryan's face. It wasn't the face of a dust monkey, it was a cop's face he had on. Then he looked at Vee as she slowly crawled to a more secure shooting position. There was more shooting and they could hear sirens in the background. There was a break in the terror being inflicted on the parking lot and suddenly Vee took her shot. The echo of that shot dying was the end of the cause of the chaos.

"She got him," Ryan said. And then all three watched a rifle fall from the side of the parking garage ledge and a red line begin to race down the concrete of the half-wall the shooter had been using as protection.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Three weeks later found Vee sitting in the middle of the newly finished floor of the Venetian house's living room grateful that most of the worst of it was over … she'd even been cleared by the MDPD IAB though that was in part due to the pressure that Lt. Horatio Caine had brought to bear on them.

From down the hall she heard, "Are you serious?! We can each have our own bedroom?!" Followed by a squeal of happiness that came close to shattering a couple of windows.

Vee sighed in relief, if Francine approved of the living arrangements that were being planned then the other two would eventually come on board. Frankie was a little shell shocked at how fast his father was moving on with some woman that wasn't his mother; not completely unwilling for it to happen, just not sure how happy he should be for his dad or how sad that his mom would never have that. Shelly was more than just ambivalent but shrugging Vee said to herself the girl would either come around or she wouldn't. If she and Frank had to wait until Shelly was eighteen and immersed in her own life before they could fully engage in theirs then that's just the way it would have to be. Frank's kids mattered. She had faith that eventually she'd prove to them she was worthy of filling the hole in their father's life that their mother had left, it would just take time.

Speaking of Her Royal Grumpiness, Shelly glumped over and stared down at the woman that she didn't know whether to be angry at or not. "I supposed you expect us to live here with you."

In a mild voice Vee told her, "All I think is that with this place you and your dad now have options you didn't have before. Your dad has already said you'll be living at least a year more with your grandparents; that they need you and you need them. But now your dad can have over all three of you at the same time and your grandparents can have some time to travel and whatnot like they used to."

"Yeah right. Like he really wants us."

Trying to pick her words carefully she said, "It isn't always about what you want, it's about what is best for the person or people you care about. Your dad wants you right now, but he knows right now that there's things he can't give you 100% yet. He's putting your best interests ahead of his own feelings and desires."

"Yeah right. He's living with you isn't he?"

Both Vee and Shelly jumped when Frank said, "Shelly Elise Tripp."

"But Dad …"

"But me no buts. We've had this conversation multiple times already."

Shelly sighed angrily then turned to go find her siblings. Vee looked up at Frank and said, "Don't sweat it. She'll get used to me. And if she doesn't, I know how to make myself scarce while you spend time with your …"

"Uh uh. I don't care if it means going back into counseling, we are not going down that road. I'll cut her some slack because of everything but at some point she needs to comes to term with it."

"Today is because she went to see Melissa and what happened during the visit. You know it."

Frank muttered, "What about every other day?" Then he shook his head and said, "I told Coral it was a bad idea but would she listen? No. I should have just outright forbid it."

"Melissa is their mother. And they need to see the truth of what you and the others have been telling them. Maybe their aunt needed to see it too instead of hoping it away. Hope isn't a plan … it's nice to have, but it isn't a plan."

Frank knelt down and brushed a lock of hair that had escape the head band that Vee was wearing. He'd asked her to consider letting her hair grow out. She'd said she would give it a try. Then he'd asked, "You sure you're gonna be okay by yourself? There's no guarantee I'll be able to get back tonight."

"Will you just go already. You need to take the kids back to Cape Coral. I'll be fine."

"Ryan is out of town at Tony's wedding."

"I know. About time he got to do something fun without having me tied to his hip."

"I'm sorry the doctors nixed you flying." He wasn't totally sorry but he was sorry that Vee was disappointed.

"I'm fine so long as Tony and Cheryl understand, and they said they do. Besides, I still say they should have eloped. From Ryan's call it sounds like hell on a half shell. More power to the two of them for giving the family this big show like everyone wanted. Maybe it will get the Wolfe family circus off the backs of the rest of us clowns."

Frank leaned over and kissed her forehead because if he started kissing her lips no telling what his kids would wind up seeing. He didn't need to listen to Shelly muttering about being scarred for life like she had last time.

# # # # # # # # # #

The house was quiet after Frank and his kids left. His arm wasn't in a sling anymore so it would be easier for him to drive. Frankie had asked to take the coupe but the girls had refused to sit squished up in the small backseat for the long drive. Frankie wasn't the only one disappointed. Frank vowed to exercise his itchy gas pedal foot another day.

Vee wandered around and just shook her head caught between sadness, anger, and gratitude. The kitchen was in nearly pristine condition. That had been Mark's gift to her outright. It was supposed to be a surprise, and boy was it. He'd set it in motion while she was still in the hospital but hadn't been finished before his death. When the security guard had called to tell her the work was completed and the paper work was in the office when she wanted it, it took her a while to figure it out. When she did both she and Frank were left speechless.

What was also a surprise was that Mark had arranged for some of her old teammates to act as a moving company and bring down all Vee's belongings that had been in storage in both Biloxi and Tampa. The garage was an even bigger mess than it had been but it was an organized mess. She'd finally started healing from the hurt she'd felt from what she thought had been the team's betrayal. At Frank's prompting she'd made herself read all of the legal documents before they'd arrived, and she was glad she had. Had she done it sooner she might not have hurt for as long as she had; she might have found the courage to be the one to reach out instead of waiting on them to do it. The stories they'd told weren't nearly as bad as the lawyers had made them out to be; the truth was quite different from what the lawyers had made it out to be.

Vee's plan was to open a few boxes a day and put things away, starting in the kitchen and the master bathroom. The furniture would have to wait until Frank and Ryan had some time to help her. Not only couldn't she travel, she was still restricted from lifting anything heavier than a skillet or her boots. There was also other things to consider. Frank's father was talking about coming for a visit, ostensibly to test out the dock and make sure everything was proceeding as it should. They were also going to finally get the stuff Frank had inherited from his grandparents out of their attic and bring it with them.

"You sure you don't mind?" Frank had asked.

"Why? This is your house too."

Frank shrugged. "Melissa was never interested in it, said it wouldn't match the décor or some shit like that."

Being a little facetious Vee had looked around at the still construction-in-progress air of the house and said, "I don't exactly see a décor, do you?"

Frank had grinned, given her a kiss, and gone back to christening the outdoor kitchen's grill. The only other thing he'd said was that as soon as he could get some of the people from work together he was bringing her sofa to the new house; it was in storage at the moment. Apparently he knew exactly where he wanted it. And with Vee finally getting her strength back he knew exactly why he wanted the thing in place sooner rather than later.

The biggest surprise, and the one she still wasn't sure what to do with, was that Mark Spicoli had left the bulk of his estate to her. She'd called his brother's wife and asked her if she'd known and she had; she'd also revealed that Mark had already set up college funds for his two nephews and she and David were all set for everything else. "He wanted you to have it Violetta. Accept it. Honor him by putting it to use making a good life for yourself."

Mark had left a letter to that same effect.

 _"_ _If you're reading this Violetta then it will be too late for me to make up for all my past mistakes. Not that it was likely that I could have but still a man can have hope. Short answer to the questions you undoubtedly have is that I'm dying. It's inoperable and I've got barely months if that. I feel it eating me from the inside out these days. My dissolute life is finally catching up with me. If I'm lucky God has taken me out before I have to suffer through the worst of the indignities they say are coming. I don't have any problems with that no matter how it happens. Just try and remember me as I was, not as I've become. As for my estate … I want you to have it. Rachel's accountant husband would only do something boring and safe with it; might not even let her see a dime of it until she's too old to enjoy it. David doesn't need it and I've already done for his kids in hopes they don't make the same mistakes their father and I made. They'll make their own but hopefully it won't bite 'em on the ass like it did us. What's left I want you to take and do something wild and crazy … like live a full life. How many times did you tell me people never expected you to draw your first breath? Well show 'em how wrong they were … live a long and full life and if you can, forgive me. I could blame the Porters and where I came from but here at the end of my life that kind of lying and rationalizing doesn't bring me any comfort. I just picked roads to travel that took me the wrong way. Wish I could go back and change it but I can't. And you can't either so don't keep blaming yourself for the way things happened. Learn from my mistakes. Learn from David's mistakes. There's people you can save and people you can't and the reasons why don't always make sense, all you can do is live with it."_

The last sentence was so eerily like what Frank had told her in the hospital that it took a week for her to show him the letter. All he did was say, "For my own reasons the man never would have been my favorite person … but there at the end he was a man I could respect."

It was also to Frank she finally was able to turn to to express her anger over the cover up that was occurring. Gerhard himself had come to her and asked that she just stay out of it, to let the family handle it and lick their wounds. Part of her understood what they were doing; trying to salvage what they could, trying to save a business that employed thousands of people. But another part of her was angry that the truth was going to get buried and that certain parties wouldn't have to pay for what they'd done. Frank had reminded her however that sometimes the best justice did not come in the nice, neat package of the law.

Everything was being laid at Jack's feet. The claim was made that he'd suffered a mental illness as a result of injuries he'd sustained from the IED. Yes, Jack was guilty but Vee thought it was too easy to throw him under the bus and make a dead man a scapegoat for everyone's actions. Even his parents were going along with it though they had good reason; they had two other sons to lose. John Thomas was quietly moved back to Biloxi after being warned that any more shenanigans and the kidnapping case would be reopened. Rob … Vee shied away from even thinking about him unless forced to.

She'd gone to see him without telling anyone. He'd asked to see her and maybe she shouldn't have but she decided she owed it to herself to try and find some answers. She'd had a doctor's appointment then afterwards went to the ward he was on.

They'd only stared at one another, neither one making a sound. The broken man in front of her only created pity in her heart. That hurt as much as all the rest of it she had been feeling. Finally Vee had turned to leave but Rob had stopped her by saying, "I'm sorry. That's all. I'm sorry."

Vee slowly turned back and for just a moment she saw the boy that, at one time, she'd been so in love with. She'd nodded once and he'd turned his head away and she knew she'd been dismissed. She wouldn't be seeing him again. It hurt too bad to dig up those bones and that part of her life was over anyway.

Frank had picked her up (Ryan had dropped her off since she still hadn't been cleared to drive). Then taking her courage in hand she'd told him about seeing Rob. He was silent all the way back to his Condo where she was now living. He'd pulled into his parking spot and only asked one question. "It's over?"

"It's been over," she answered. "This was just the end of the ending … tamping down the earth and putting flowers on the grave."

"Okay."

He hadn't said anything else but he had held her when he'd woken up and found her crying in the middle of the night. He'd kissed her and gently got her back in the bed they were now officially sharing. He'd watched her carefully for a couple of days but when Vee had said it was the end of the end she'd meant it.

But it's been the beginning of other things. When Mr. Porter Sr. says a thing he generally means it. Vee was contacted by a company that specialized in hiring women as bodyguards. She wasn't going to be doing any field work. What they wanted was to pick her brain about her experience in the security industry from a woman's point of view and how she dealt with the challenges she'd faced. It wasn't about pitting female against male, testing who was better, it was about making it so the two genders could work together to create the safest environment for their clients. Vee was on retainer with a year-long contract. It wasn't forever but it would certainly let her get back on her feet, give her time to rebuild her reputation, help her to feel like she was genuinely contributing to the now shared household she and Frank were sharing.

Frank wasn't quite sure what to think of her new job but they'd agreed to keep an open line of communication. Heck he'd even agreed to introduce her to some of the female officers at the MDPD to get their take on things. If he could go that far then Vee figured she could make sure and remember to keep him in the loop on what she was doing.

Ryan had his own beginnings of sorts though if they moved any slower they'd leave snail slime in their wake. Frank and Vee had double-dated with Ryan and his new "friend" Michelle. Vee liked her, she wasn't as self-assured as the women Ryan had been attracted to in the past but then again it was fun seeing her cousin take the dominant and protective lead for a change. The best thing is that Ryan seemed to be blossoming under the attention and respect that Michelle was giving him. So what if Vee didn't have Ryan all to herself anymore, she knew it was for the best of reasons. He'd given her so much of himself over the years, made so many sacrifices; she was just happy to see him getting some of that back in what looked like was turning into a healthy relationship.

The people Frank and Ryan worked with had gone out of their way to be welcoming. It was … nice. A little disconcerting but still nice. She was still a little leery of Calleigh Duquesne and Natalia Boa Vista but she was working on it. Eric Delko she still hid from when possible but seeing him with Calleigh's kids was making her much less tense. In a couple of weeks they'd all be coming to the house to have a cook out. Hopefully by then the pool would be ready for use and the rest of the house wouldn't be such a mess. And so thinking Vee stopped her aimless trek through the house and decided it was time to get to work. It was time to prove she wasn't as weak as she had been. It was time to start living again.

 _Roll credits_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** An Episode 3 is sketched out on my computer. I'm hoping to include more of the ME, Dr. Tom, and pick back up where I left the other series characters. Might even introduce someone that catches Horatio's attention. But for how long and with what results?_

 _Let me know what you think or if you're interested in seeing this series continue. Thanks._


End file.
